Sector Update: Energy

01:07 PM EDT, 08/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were lower Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) each falling about 1.3%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index dropped 2.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was up 0.9%. Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2% to $85.31 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract declined 1.8% to $92.68 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures increased 0.1% to $2.78 per 1 million BTU. In corporate news, Shell (SHEL) has drawn interest from potential bidders including ExxonMobil (XOM), LyondellBasell (LYB) and Apollo Global Management (APO) for its US chemicals assets, which could fetch up to $8 billion, the Financial Times reported. Shell shares were down 0.5%, and Exxon fell 1.5%.