Sector Update: Energy Stocks Gain Tuesday Afternoon

02:01 PM EDT, 10/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks rose Tuesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index gaining 1.3% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.5%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index climbed 0.4%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index increased 0.5%. West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.4% to $94.09 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent shed 0.9% to $105.68 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures gained 3.4% to $3.28 per 1 million BTU. In sector news, Iran has escalated its attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, potentially slowing the flow of cargoes through the waterway after nearly returning to prewar levels earlier this month, Bloomberg reported, citing shipping industry sources. In corporate news, the Trump administration will work with Delek US Holdings (DK) to expand a Texas refinery, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing Vice President JD Vance at a campaign stop in Tyler, Texas. Delek shares jumped 5.2%. BP (BP) shares rose 3.7% after the company said Q3 net debt will drop to $13.5 billion to $14.5 billion from $22.3 billion at the end of Q2. Equinor (EQNR) shares rose 2.5% after the company agreed to supply Eneco with about 9 terawatt-hours of natural gas annually for five years with deliveries starting Oct. 1.