Sector Update: Energy Stocks Decline in Late Friday Afternoon Trading

Energy stocks were lower late Friday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index shedding 0.4% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 0.6%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index dropped 1.4%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was little changed.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.1% to $78.37 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract declined 1.2% to $82.90 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures dropped 1.8% to $2.26 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, jurors in Philadelphia returned a $725.5 million verdict against Exxon Mobil XOM for failing to warn the public about known health risks from exposure to benzene in its petroleum products, attorneys for the plaintiff said. Exxon shares fell 0.3%.

Dominion Energy D completed a business review and restructuring process in March which has now positioned it to implement a plan that will likely generate "consistent dependable growth" at par with the peers, BofA said Friday in a report. BofA upgraded the stock to neutral from underperform and raised the price objective to $54 from $43. Dominion shares added 0.8%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities AQN reported Q1 adjusted earnings Friday of $0.14 per share, down from $0.17 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected $0.16. Its shares fell 2.4%.

Oklo OKLO shares tumbled 54.5% after the "fast-fission" nuclear fuel recycling company completed its business combination with AltC Acquisition.