01:30 PM EST, 01/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.5% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 0.1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index added 0.7%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index was shedding 0.7%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was declining 0.6% to $73.49 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was down 0.4% to $76.21 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures jumped 7% to $3.59 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, President Joe Biden on Monday issued presidential memoranda restricting new offshore oil and gas drilling off the country's East and West Coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska.

In corporate news, SolarEdge Technologies ( SEDG ) shares surged 14%. The company said Monday it has signed safe harbor agreements with several residential solar installation and financing companies in the US, in addition to announcing its second sale of tax credits.