01:45 PM EDT, 04/07/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.5% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.6%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was climbing 1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index rose 0.4%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was rising 2.8% to $115.50 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 0.9% to $110.71 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures climbed 2.2% to $2.87 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Exxon Mobil ( XOM )- (XOM) and Chevron-backed (CVX) Caspian Pipeline Consortium is seeing stable oil shipments following an alleged military strike on a maritime loading infrastructure, Reuters reported, citing Kazakhstan's energy ministry. The Russian defense ministry claimed Ukrainian forces hit the Novorossiysk transshipment complex, damaging a consortium mooring point and sparking fires at four fuel storage reservoirs, the report said. Exxon shares were down 0.4%, and Chevron ( CVX ) gained 1%.