The utilities sector rode high on declining energy costs. Crude oil prices fell, with the WTI closing at its lowest levels in a month, at $89.38 a barrel. Meanwhile, natural gas futures approached the $3 per million British thermal units threshold - falling by 3.1% to $3.011 per mmBtu on the first day of the November contract being the front-month contract. It's also the third day in a row that natural gas futures have finished lower. Mild weather continues to be the primary factor keeping pressure on natural gas futures, with cooler-than-normal temperatures expected in the eastern half of the country through the next two weeks.

Support also came from interest rates. While long-term Treasury yields reached fresh highs, the increase wasn't as sharp as in recent sessions and the two-year yield actually declined, softening the fixed-income competition for capital invested in high-yielding utilities stock.