09:13 AM EDT, 10/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were advancing premarket Monday as the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was 0.6% higher recently.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 1.3% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.4% lower.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.4% at $75.40 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil gained 1.2% to $78.99 per barrel. Natural gas futures were down 1.3% at $2.817 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Equinor ( EQNR ) said it has acquired 41.2 million shares or a 9.8% stake worth $2.5 billion in Orsted, making it the second largest investor in the offshore wind energy company after the Danish state. Equinor ( EQNR ) shares fell nearly 5% premarket.