Energy stocks were rising late Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index adding 1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) advancing 1.1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was up 0.2%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index rose 0.5%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2.3% to $74.09 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract dropped 3% to $78.12 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures advanced 0.6% to $3.25 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Petrobras (PBR) shares rose 1.3%. The company said Friday its board approved a final investment decision for a biorefining project with an investment of about $1.2 billion at its Presidente Bernardes refinery in Sao Paulo state.