Energy stocks closed mostly higher, taking cues from the broader markets, which were led by telecoms and consumer discretionary, while materials continued to trade lower, all on modest volumes.

Among energy stocks, oilfield services were the laggards with declines among most of the large cap providers while the sector’s main outlier to the downside was ExxonMobil, which fell nearly 1% after reporting results that missed estimates on lower production.  Meanwhile, Exxon’s counterpart, Royal Dutch Shell, gained nearly 4% in New York trading after reporting earnings that beat forecasts with ...