03:37 PM EDT, 06/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.5% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.3%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was climbing 2%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was up 2%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.7% to $93.74 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 1.1% to $96.03 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures decreased 0.6% to $3.16 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, BP (BP) held advanced talks to sell its UK North Sea assets to Ithaca Energy in a nearly 2 billion British pounds ($2.7 billion) deal, though negotiations failed in recent weeks, with the oil major still exploring a sale to other potential buyers, the Financial Times reported. BP shares were up 1.2%.