Sector Update: Energy

03:28 PM EDT, 08/27/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were slightly higher late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) fractionally higher. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was rising 3.5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was down 0.8%. Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.1% to $83.93 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 2.6% to $90.11 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures added 2.3% to $2.91 per 1 million BTU. In corporate news, Shell (SHEL) ended talks with Unimot months ago over offloading its stake in Germany's Russia-linked Schwedt refinery, Bloomberg reported. The refinery, majority-owned by Russian oil firm Rosneft, has been stuck in an ownership deadlock since 2022, the report said. Shell shares were down 0.3%.