03:42 PM EDT, 06/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks declined late Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index shedding 0.8% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index dropped 0.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index shed 0.1%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose 4.9 million barrels in the week ended Friday following a decrease of 2.2 million in the previous week. Excluding SPR inventories, commercial crude oil stocks rose 3.6 million after a 2.5 million decrease in the previous week, compared with the 2.8 million drop expected in a Bloomberg survey.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil eased 0.1% to $80.78 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent crude rose 0.1% to $85.10 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures tumbled 5% to $2.62 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, PPL (PPL) shares fell 0.7%. The company said its Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities units will explore additional locations and partnerships that may support nuclear energy in the state.

Pembina Pipeline ( PBA ) intends to redeem for cash all or part of its outstanding $300 million of senior unsecured series 19 medium-term notes due June 22, 2026. Its shares eased 0.1%.

The BP (BP) refinery fire that killed two brothers in 2022 at the Toledo, Ohio, plant was the "last in a series of cascading events" that began about 24 hours before, according to the US Chemical Safety Board's final report into the incident. BP shares fell 1.1%.

Sempra ( SRE ) shares added 0.9% after the company and Aramco said their subsidiaries signed a nonbinding heads of agreement for the Port Arthur LNG phase 2 expansion project.