03:44 PM EDT, 08/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were rising late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index increasing 0.4% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 0.3%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was easing 0.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was up 0.2%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.8% to $76.81 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent advanced 0.5% to $79.55 per barrel. Henry Hub natural-gas futures were 1.5% higher at $2.16 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Northwest Natural ( NWN ) shares were shedding 0.2% as it said Friday it appointed Raymond Kaszuba as its chief financial officer, effective Aug. 31.

Algonquin Power & Utilities ( AQNB ) shares tumbled nearly 13%. The company agreed to sell its renewable energy business to LS Power in an all-cash deal worth up to $2.5 billion, excluding debt. Algonquin also reported Q2 results.

Berry (BRY) shares were falling 2% after it reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.18 per share, up from $0.15 a year earlier, but below the $0.20 expected by analysts polled by Capital IQ.

Energy Transfer ( ET ) was down 1.9% after the company reported the launch of an underwritten public offering of about 38.8 million units by unitholders WTG Midstream and a Stonepeak affiliate.