Energy stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index adding 1.8% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) rising 2.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was increasing 0.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was shedding 1.3%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 7.6% to $107.47 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract climbed 7.2% to $119.22 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.4% to $2.56 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Entergy (ETR) shares rose 1.4% after it reported Q1 adjusted earnings Wednesday of $0.86 per share, up from $0.82 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $0.84.