-- Energy stocks advanced late Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.4%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index increased 0.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was up 0.4%.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.5% to $93.60 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent gained 3.7% to $98.43 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 2.1% to $2.66 per 1 million BTU.
In corporate news, York Water (YORW) shares fell 2.9% after it said Thursday it priced an underwritten public offering of about 1.5 million common shares at $28.50 per share, for estimated gross proceeds of about $43 million.