Sector Update: Health Care

Energy stocks were lower Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index decreasing 1% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 1.3%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was posting a 2.6% drop, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was shedding 0.5%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 2.8 million barrels in the week ended May 17 following a decrease of 1.9 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks rose by 1.8 million barrels after a 2.5-million-barrel drop in the previous week, compared with the 2-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:50 am ET.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was declining 0.6% to $78.16 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was decreasing 0.6% to $82.41 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures jumped 3.8% to $2.77 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, alternative asset manager Kimmeridge has withdrawn its independent nominees to the board of SilverBow Resources SBOW in light of the oil and gas company's pending sale to Crescent Energy CRGY, according to a press release Wednesday. SilverBow shares were declining 0.9% and Crescent was falling 1.5%.