01:16 PM EDT, 03/27/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.7% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.8%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was climbing 1.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index rose 1.3%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was rising 4.6% to $98.81 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 3.4% to $111.70 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were 1.7% higher at $3.05 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Entergy ( ETR ) shares jumped past 8% after its unit Entergy Louisiana said Friday it has agreed to an expanded power supply contract with Meta Platforms (META) to support the technology company's Northeast Louisiana computing facility.