01:28 PM EDT, 10/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were lower Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index off 0.2% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 0.4%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was posting a 0.9% decline, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was shedding 0.5%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.1% to $70.03 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was down 0.9% to $74.27 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures jumped 4.7% to $2.45 per 1 million BTU.

US natural gas stocks rose by 80 billion cubic feet in the week ended Oct. 18, larger than the 65 billion gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following an increase of 76 billion cubic feet in the previous week.

In corporate news, Expro ( XPRO ) shares tumbled past 13%. The company reported Q3 adjusted EPS of $0.23, swinging from an adjusted loss of $0.06 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected a profit of $0.27.