09:08 AM EDT, 05/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were rising premarket Monday, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) recently gaining 0.6%.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 0.7% higher, and the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) advanced 3.3%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.8% at $78.76 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark Brent crude rose 0.7% to $83.52 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 2.8% at $2.20 per 1 million BTU.

Meta Materials ( MMAT ) shares slumped 29% after the company said it received board approval to slash its workforce by about 80% to address challenges related to liquidity and securing additional financing.

Atlas Energy Solutions ( AESI ) said that its net income and total sales increased in Q1, its board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, and appointed Blake McCarthy as chief financial officer, effective May 13. The company's shares slid 5.3% pre-bell Monday.

Southern Company ( SO ) shares were down 0.8% after the company said it launched an offering of $1.1 billion of convertible senior unsecured notes due June 15, 2027 in a private placement.