09:21 AM EDT, 04/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were advancing pre-bell Thursday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) up 0.2% recently.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 0.3% higher and the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was up 0.6%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.3% at $82.94 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea crude oil was flat at $87.30 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 2.8% at $1.76 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Kinder Morgan ( KMI ) rose by 0.8% after it reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.34 per share, up from $0.30 a year earlier.

TotalEnergies (TTE) shareholders are urging the oil and gas company to separate the roles of CEO and chairman, according to a statement from Swiss pension fund investor group Ethos Foundation. TotalEnergies was slightly lower pre-bell.

Liberty Energy (LBRT) was up more than 5% even after it reported lower Q1 earnings and revenue.