09:09 AM EDT, 04/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were rising premarket Wednesday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) recently gaining 0.4%.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was nearly 1% higher and the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was up nearly 2%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.6% at $85.67 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea crude oil gained 0.7% to $89.54 per barrel, and natural gas futures were marginally higher at $1.87 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Comstock Resources ( CRK ) was up 0.6% after the company priced an upsized private placement of $400 million of 6.75% senior unsecured notes due 2029.

VivoPower International ( VVPR ) soared 40% after its Tembo unit said it has signed a binding heads of agreement to exclusively negotiate a business combination with Cactus Acquisition Corp.1 (CCTS), a special purpose acquisition company. VivoPower ( VVPR ) shares gained more than 300% on Tuesday.