Sector Update: Energy

Energy stocks were higher late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.8% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) up 0.3%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index shed 0.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index climbed 1.6%. Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 0.1% to $68.49 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was fractionally higher at $71.60 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 0.8% to $3.20 per 1 million BTU. In corporate news, Chevron's (CVX) Kilby power project differentiates the company from its global peers and could become a new earnings growth driver while supporting a higher valuation over time, UBS Securities said. The brokerage said in a note that the 2.67-gigawatt project, being developed with Joulent to supply power to a Microsoft (MSFT) data center under a 20-year agreement, could become one of the largest -- if not the largest -- behind-the-meter power projects developed to date. Chevron shares were up 1.5%.