03:49 PM EDT, 07/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks rose late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 1.2% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) adding 1.4%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was climbing 4.1%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index was down 0.9%.

US commercial crude oil stocks, excluding inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 3.2 million barrels in the week ended July 18, following a 3.9 million barrel drop in the previous week and compared with the 1.5-million-barrel decline forecast in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.3% to $65.50 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract increased 0.2% to $68.73 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were 5.6% lower at $3.07 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Oklo ( OKLO ) shares jumped 8.5% after the firm said it has partnered with Liberty Energy (LBRT) to offer power services to clients like data centers, industrial facilities, and utility-scale sites. Liberty shares surged 18%.

TotalEnergies (TTE) shares rose 1.1% after the firm said it started production at the Begonia and Clov phase 3 offshore projects in Angola.

Baker Hughes ( BKR ) shares jumped past 11% following its Q2 results.

GE Vernova ( GEV ) shares surged 14%. The company reported Q2 earnings of $1.86 per share, down from $4.65 a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.76 per share.