01:26 PM EDT, 09/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks advanced Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.6% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) adding 1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index climbed 2.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index eased 0.3%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 0.5% to $63.67 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent dropped 0.6% at $67.17 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.7% to $3.08 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Shell (SHEL) is considering a sale of its 16.67% stake in the North West Shelf liquified natural gas export plant in Australia that may be worth $3 billion, Bloomberg reported. Shell shares fell 0.2%.