Energy dominates today's S&P leaderboard as oil rises on Ukraine concerns
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images


Seven of today's top eight gainers on the S&P 500 were oil and gas stocks, and the group (XLE
+3.9%) was the overwhelming leader in today's sector standings, defying the broader market selloff on the back of rising crude oil prices.

WTI crude (CL1:COM) for March delivery closed +2.8% to settle at $85.60/bbl after losing 2.2% yesterday, while March Brent crude (CO1:COM) ended +2.2% at $88.20/bbl.
"Tensions are seriously heightened between Russia and the West, and if there is an invasion of Ukraine when energy markets are already so tight, the additional risk premium should continue to support prices and push it even higher," Pratibha Thaker at the Economist Intelligence Unit tells MarketWatch.
APA Corp. (NASDAQ:APA) closed +8.3% to top all major U.S. energy equities, followed by Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)
+8.1%, Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)
+7%, Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO)
+6.5%, Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG)
+6.3%, Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN)
+6% and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB)
+5.9%.
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) rallied to another new 52-week high and has climbed 18% so far this year, Chevron (NYSE:CVX) popped 4.2% to also rack up a 52-week high with shares rising 11% YTD, and Devon - the S&P's top performing stock in 2021 with a 173% gain - has added another 12.5% in 2022.
The energy sector is the only one of the 11 S&P industry groups that has advanced since the broad index peaked in early January.
ETFs: XLE, XOP, VDE, OIH, FENY, FCG, IXC, XES, IYE

The WTI and Brent benchmarks have closed higher for five consecutive weeks and look poised to recapture seven-year highs set last week.