03:24 PM EDT, 07/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks advanced late Friday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index increasing 0.2% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.7%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index climbed 2.9%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was fractionally lower.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3% to $89.45 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent dropped 3.9% to $96.80 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures shed 1.3% to $2.88 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, American Resources ( AREC ) said Friday that its board has declared a special cash dividend of 4.31 cents per share, payable on Aug. 25 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 15. Its shares were down 3.1%.