Energy stocks maintained their advance Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF (XLE) each rising around 1.5%. The Philadelphia Oil-Service Sector index was posting a 2.7% gain, while the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was slipping 0.9%.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled $0.96 higher at $78.20 per barrel while North Sea Brent crude also was advancing $0.29 to $83.48 per barrel. Henry Hub natural-gas futures rose $0.04 to $7.24 per 1 million BTU.
In company news, TC Energy (TRP) dropped 6.9% after the Canadian pipeline company said its Coastal GasLink project continues to face significant cost pressures for labor as well as labor shortages and contractor underperformance and disputes.