Energy stocks declined late Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) both dropping 2%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index slumped 3.1%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index rose 0.5%.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 1.4% to $70.21 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent advanced 1.1% to $73.34 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 3% to $3.05 per 1 million BTU.
US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 7.9 million barrels in the week ended Friday following a decrease of 3.4 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks rose by 7.7 million after a drop of 3.2 million in the previous week, compared with a decline of 2.6 million expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
In corporate news, Chevron (CVX) received a restricted license from the US government to resume limited operations in Venezuela, Reuters reported. Chevron shares fell 2.7%.
Shell-led (SHEL) LNG Canada is facing technical problems as it ramps up production at its liquefied natural gas plant at Kitimat, Canada, Reuters reported. Shell shares dropped 2.4%.
American Electric Power (AEP) shares rose 3.4% after the company reported Q2 results that topped Wall Street estimates.
MPLX (MPLX) is in talks with Five Point Infrastructure to buy Northwind Midstream Partners for $2.3 billion, Bloomberg reported. MPLX shares added 0.2%.
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