Sector Update: Energy Stocks Gain Late Afternoon

03:49 PM EDT, 10/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.6% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.7%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index increased 0.5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was up 0.7%. West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.5% to $94.22 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent shed 0.9% to $105.73 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures gained 4.6% to $3.31 per 1 million BTU. In sector news, Iran has escalated its attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, potentially slowing the flow of cargoes through the waterway after nearly returning to prewar levels earlier this month, Bloomberg reported, citing shipping industry sources. In corporate news, the Trump administration will work with Delek US Holdings (DK) to expand a Texas refinery, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing Vice President JD Vance at a campaign stop in Tyler, Texas. Delek shares jumped 4.1%. American Electric Power (AEP) said Tuesday it agreed to acquire up to 1.6 gigawatts of power generation equipment from Mainspring Energy through 2034, as utilities seek to meet rising electricity demand from AI data centers. American Electric Power shares were up 1.3%. BP (BP) shares rose 3.8% after the company said Q3 net debt will drop to $13.5 billion to $14.5 billion from $22.3 billion at the end of Q2. Equinor (EQNR) shares rose 2.4% after the company agreed to supply Eneco with about 9 terawatt-hours of natural gas annually for five years, with deliveries starting Oct. 1.