09:08 AM EDT, 10/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were advancing pre-bell Wednesday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) 0.6% higher recently.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 1.6% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.9% lower.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was almost 2% higher at $68.54 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil gained 2.1% to $72.61 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 1.6% at $2.81 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Hess (HES) shares were up 0.7% after the company reported higher Q3 adjusted net income and revenue compared with a year earlier.