04:03 PM EDT, 06/03/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks advanced late Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.7%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was little changed, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index shed 0.3%.

Crude oil futures rose as Iran struck Gulf nations Kuwait and Bahrain with missiles amid faltering diplomacy with Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported. Kuwait came under a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones on Wednesday that shut its international airport, killed one person, and injured dozens more, the report said.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 2.2% to $95.80 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent rose 1.8% to $97.74 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures increased 2.2% to $3.24 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Xcel Energy's ( XEL ) Colorado utility unit reached a non-unanimous settlement agreement in its electric rate case before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, and the company reaffirmed its 2026 EPS guidance of $4.04 to $4.16. The stock declined 1%.

JinkoSolar ( JKS ) will enter the data-center business, supplying power directly from its plants to meet growing AI-driven demand, Nikkei Asia reported. JinkoSolar ( JKS ) shares fell 0.9%.

CMS Energy ( CMS/PB ) said Wednesday that it has appointed Sri Maddipati as executive vice president and chief financial officer of the company and its primary business Consumers Energy ( CMS/PB ). CMS Energy ( CMS/PB ) shares were down 2.1%.

Obsidian Energy ( OBE ) agreed to acquire Belly River light oil assets in the Wilson Creek area of Willesden Green from Highwood Asset Management for an unadjusted purchase price of 105 million Canadian dollars ($75.8 million). Obsidian shares fell 1.1%.