03:56 PM EDT, 07/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) up 0.8%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was climbing 1.4%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was fractionally higher.

In geopolitical news, President Donald Trump delivered a dim view of possible talks with Iran to end the war, telling reporters Tuesday that the US has "no interest in meeting" until Iran is ready to convene "in a meaningful way," the Associated Press reported.

Separately, a desalination facility and power plants caught fire and suffered serious damage in Kuwait after new Iranian strikes targeted the crucial facilities, along with areas of Bahrain and Jordan, following the 10th consecutive night of US bombing, Al Jazeera reported Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Houthi-run SABA news agency said six ships attempting to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the southern Red Sea were forced to reroute on Tuesday after being warned by the rebels, a day after they announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, according to the Associated Press.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 2% to $84.91 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract rose 2.3% to $91.25 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures increased 0.9% to $2.89 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Fluor (FLR) said Tuesday it secured a contract from Gulf Petrochemical Industries to carry out the front-end engineering and design for a new aromatics facility in Bahrain. Fluor shares gained 3.6%.

Shell (SHEL) resumed operations at a 200,000-barrel-per-day crude oil unit at its Pernis oil refinery in the Netherlands on Monday following a brief disruption, Reuters reported. Shell shares were up 1.1%.

Shell, TotalEnergies (TTE) and BP (BP) are in negotiations to supply 15 to 18 cargoes of liquefied natural gas per month to Egypt for at least three years, Reuters reported. TotalEnergies shares climbed 2.9%, and BP added 1.3%

Magnolia Oil & Gas ( MGY ) shares were down 2%. The company said late Monday it priced its underwritten public offering of 46.3 million class A shares at $23.75 per share.