03:21 PM EDT, 09/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were lower late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling 2.5% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) dropping 2.3%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index tumbled 5.1%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index added 0.2%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 4.5% to $70.26 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was falling 4.9% to $73.70 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were 4.1% higher at $2.21 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, EnLink Midstream ( ENLC ) shares were down 0.8% as Capital One downgraded the company to equalweight from overweight with a $16 price target.