Sector Update: Energy

01:22 PM EDT, 10/14/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.4% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.5%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was falling 1.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was shedding 0.5%. Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.9% to $95.97 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 1% to $106.79 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 3.6% to $3.17 per 1 million BTU. In corporate news, American Electric Power (AEP) shares rose 0.7% after it said Wednesday that it will invest about $4 billion in a 702-megawatt fuel cell generation project near Cheyenne, Wyoming, as part of a 20-year power purchase agreement with Alphabet's Google (GOOGL).