02:20 PM EDT, 06/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks fell Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index down 0.7% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) shedding 0.8%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index eased 0.4%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index added 0.3%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.3% to $65.47 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent advanced 0.2% to $67.88 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures climbed 5.8% to $3.73 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, the Trump administration is preparing executive actions to expand energy supply in support of US artificial intelligence growth, Reuters reported. Proposed measures include easing grid access for power projects and offering federal land for AI data center development.

In corporate news, Ameren ( AEE ) plans to build an 800-megawatt simple-cycle natural gas energy center combined with its first large-scale battery storage facility at a single site in Jefferson County, Missouri. Ameren ( AEE ) shares were fractionally lower.

TotalEnergies (TTE) said it signed a deal to buy a 25% stake in the Block 53 energy exploration block offshore Suriname from Moeve. TotalEnergies shares were down 0.3%.

DNOW ( DNOW ) will acquire MRC Global ( MRC ) in an all-stock deal valued at about $1.5 billion, inclusive of MRC's debt. DNOW ( DNOW ) shares jumped past 6% and MRC surged 14%.