Sector Update: Energy Stocks Decline Pre-Bell Wednesday

09:27 AM EDT, 09/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were declining pre-bell Wednesday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) 1.2% lower. The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 2% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.6% higher. Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 1.8% lower at $103.91 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil fell 1.2% to $107.44 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 1.6% at $2.97 per 1 million British Thermal Units. Hafnia (HAFN) said it has agreed to acquire 4.5 million Class A shares in TORM (TRMD) at $32.25 per share, representing about 4.4% of TORM's issued and outstanding share capital. Shares of TORM were up more than 2% premarket. Chord Energy (CHRD) shares were down more than 1% after the company said it has agreed to sell gas-producing land assets to POSCO International for $550 million. Exxon Mobil (XOM) won approval for its Rose carbon-capture project in Texas, allowing the company to move forward with the development, Bloomberg reported. Exxon Mobil stock was 0.9% lower pre-bell.