03:59 PM EDT, 05/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were easing late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index fractionally lower and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) shedding 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was down 0.2%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index climbed 1.1%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.3% to $62.43 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 1.2% to $65.33 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were down 0.9% at $3.33 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, South Bow ( SOBO ) shares dropped past 4%. The company reported Q1 normalized net income late Thursday of $0.47 per diluted share, down from $0.55 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $0.44. Revenue for the quarter fell to $498 million from $544 million a year earlier. Two analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $521.6 million.

Vistra ( VST ) shares gained 2.7%. The company said late Thursday it has agreed to buy seven natural gas generation facilities totaling about 2,600 megawatts from Lotus Infrastructure Partners in a deal valued at $1.9 billion.

OPAL Fuels ( OPAL ) plans to build a biogas-to-renewable natural gas facility at Republic Services' (RSG) Charlotte Motor Speedway Landfill in Concord, North Carolina, in a joint venture with the waste-management company's affiliate. OPAL shares jumped past 11%.