S&P 500 Energy Sector on Track for Biggest Weekly Gain Since October 2022

The S&P Energy sector, leading the gainers among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 on Friday with 1.4% rise, is poised to notch its biggest one-week percentage gain since October 2022
Oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron providing biggest boosts to SPNY on the session: XOM up 1.4%, CVX climbs 1.6% ** The index, currently up ~7.5% since last Friday’s close, has largely followed crude prices; front-month WTI is up about 4.3% on the week
Year-to-date, SPNY and WTI have gained about 38% and 42%, respectively ** On February 28, the U.S. and Israel began airstrikes against Iran, resulting in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s crude is transported, putting upward pressure on energy prices
Increasing energy prices are causing broader inflation to heat up, leading to an increasing likelihood of a rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve by year-end; financial markets view a 25 bps rate hike as the most likely outcome of the Fed’s December meeting
Of the 20 constituents of the SPNY, only Expand Energy is down so far this year; of the remaining 19, all but one have enjoyed at least double-digit gains YTD

Reporting by Stephen Culp

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