-- Energy stocks fell late Tuesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index declining 2.4% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) dropping 2%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index shed 2.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index gained 0.4%.
In sector news, oil prices fell amid optimism that the US and Iran may revive peace talks. The two countries could resume talks later this week, possibly in Pakistan, news outlets reported, citing US President Donald Trump. Trump continues to be open to resuming in-person negotiations soon if he believes Iran is ready to submit to his demands, CNN reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Separately, the International Energy Agency on Tuesday forecast global oil demand to turn negative this year due to the Middle East conflict, penciling in the sharpest consumption decline in Q2 since the COVID-19 pandemic.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil tumbled 7.5% to $91.65 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent dropped 4.5% to $94.92 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures decreased 0.9% to $2.60 per 1 million BTU.
In corporate news, BP (BP) said its Q1 upstream production is expected to be "broadly flat" from the previous quarter, while cautioning that energy market volatility may pressure results and widen price fluctuations. BP shares shed 0.7%.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Dow (DOW) are among companies raising prices for plastics as the US-Israel war with Iran drives fuel and feedstock costs higher, Bloomberg reported. Exxon shares fell 2.2%.
Shell (SHEL) is in late-stage talks to sell its South African retail fuel network to Abu Dhabi National Oil, Bloomberg reported. The prospective $1 billion deal includes 600 fueling locations and would secure a 10% regional market share for the buyer, the report said. Shell shares fell 1.4%.
Bloom Energy (BE) shares jumped 24%, a day after the company said it will provide up to 2.8 gigawatts of its fuel cell systems to Oracle (ORCL) under an expanded partnership to support the software giant's AI infrastructure buildout.