Energy stocks were edging lower Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) each fractionally lower.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was easing 0.2%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index increased 0.2%.

In geopolitical news, a raft of top military appointments by Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei marks a shift to an "offensive doctrine," Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who advises the force's new commander, said in an interview on state TV late Tuesday, according to a Bloomberg report.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 0.4% to $82.90 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract fell 0.5% to $88.47 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 1.1% to $2.80 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Energy Fuels (UUUU) said Wednesday that shareholders of Australian Strategic Materials approved Energy Fuels' planned acquisition of the company at meetings held in Perth, Australia. Energy Fuels shares were down 1.7%.