Sector Update: Energy Stocks Rise Late Afternoon

04:03 PM EDT, 10/14/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.3% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.6%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was falling 1.7%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was shedding 0.4%. In geopolitical news, the Iran-aligned militant group Houthis vowed to press on with attacks on airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, a day after a strike that sources said caused extensive damage to the headquarters of oil giant Saudi Aramco, Reuters reported. Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.1% to $95.14 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 0.4% to $106.07 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 3.3% to $3.17 per 1 million BTU. In sector news, the International Energy Agency on Wednesday lowered its global oil demand outlook for this year amid elevated fuel prices, with only a partial recovery seen in 2027. Oil consumption is now expected to drop by 2.6 million barrels a day on average in 2026 and by 2.5 million barrels in the ongoing quarter, with diesel likely to account for a quarter of the projected decline. Last month, the agency projected world oil demand to decline by 2.5 million barrels a day this year. In corporate news, Greenland Energy (GLND) shares surged past 76% after President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that "Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin" in Greenland. American Electric Power (AEP) shares rose 0.4% 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). Petrobras (PBR) shares gained 1.7%. The company said Tuesday it will receive $859 million after signing cost and volume balancing agreements with its partners in the BM-S-11A Consortium, Shell (SHEL), TotalEnergies (TTE), and Petrogal, in connection with the Berbigao and Sururu shared reservoirs. Equinor (EQNR) and its partners TotalEnergies and Petoro have made an oil and gas discovery at an exploration well near the Oseberg field off the southwestern coast of Norway, the company said. Equinor shares added 0.6%.