Sector Update: Energy

01:26 PM EDT, 10/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were lower Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling 1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) shedding 1.3%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index dropped 3.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was adding 1.2%. Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.1% to $99.20 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract climbed 3.2% to $112.25 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures added 1.2% to $2.82 per 1 million BTU. In corporate news, Infineum, a UK-based chemicals group co-owned by Shell (SHEL) and Exxon Mobil (XOM), is exploring an $8 billion sale, the Financial Times reported. Infineum has selected advisers at Bank of America (BAC) to run the sales process, which launched in recent days and could attract private equity suitors, the report said, citing the people. Shell shares were up 0.2%, and Exxon was down 0.6%.