01:27 PM EDT, 04/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were lower Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index decreasing 0.5% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 0.3%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was posting a 1% drop, while the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was rising 0.4%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 5.6 million barrels in the week ended April 19 following an increase of 3.4 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 6.4 million barrels after a 2.7-million-barrel gain in the previous week, compared with the 2-million-barrel increase expected in a Bloomberg survey.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was declining 0.9% to $82.64 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was shedding 0.7% to $87.78 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures tumbled 6% to $1.70 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Entergy ( ETR ) reported Q1 adjusted earnings Wednesday of $1.08 per diluted share, compared with $1.14 a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Capital IQ expected $1.50. Its shares were falling nearly 1%.