08:57 AM EDT, 08/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were leaning lower pre-bell Thursday, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 0.2% recently.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 0.2% higher, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 1.3%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.6% at $78.36 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark Brent 0.5% to $81.28 per barrel, and natural-gas futures were up 2.1% at $2.08 per 1 million BTU.

Canadian Natural Resources ( CNQ ) shares rose 2.3% after it reported Q2 adjusted net earnings of 0.88 Canadian dollars ($0.64) per diluted share, up from CA$0.57 a year earlier.