01:45 PM EDT, 06/18/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were lower Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling 1.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) dropping 2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index shed 3.5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index rose 1.2%.

Crude oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian digitally signed a memorandum of understanding aiming to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, lift the US blockade of Iranian ports, and pursue a permanent peace deal to end the war.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 2.3% to $75.04 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract fell 2% to $77.95 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures gained 2.5% to $3.22 per 1 million BTU.

US natural gas stocks rose 73 billion cubic feet in the week ended June 12, below the 76 billion rise expected in a Bloomberg survey and following an increase of 108 billion cubic feet in the previous week.

In corporate news, New Fortress Energy ( NFE ) shares fell 7.5%. The firm said Thursday the UK restructuring plan between its subsidiaries and some creditors was approved at a hearing in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.

Energy Transfer ( ET ) said it is expanding its Nederland, Texas NGL export terminal, adding 240,000 bpd of ethane capacity and 55,000 bpd of LPG capacity, with all ethane volumes committed under long-term contracts into the 2040s. Its shares rose 0.7%.

Venture Global ( VG ) signed new binding agreements with German energy company EnBW to supply 820,000 tonnes per annum of US liquefied natural gas over a period of five years starting this year. Venture Global ( VG ) shares shed 1.2%.