Oil plunges from 14-year highs; Exxon, Chevron slip after eight straight gains
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Energy stocks (XLE
-3.1%) comprise Wednesday's five biggest losers on the S&P 500, as crude futures plunged by the most since November after the United Arab Emirates and Iraq signaled OPEC may have greater willingness to raise production, as well as hopes for a de-escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
April WTI crude oil (CL1:COM) closed -12.1% to settle at $108.70/bbl, after ending Tuesday at its highest since August 2008, and May Brent crude (CO1:COM)
-13.2% to $111.14/bbl, after closing at its best level since July 2008.
At the close: PSX
-5.9%, XOM
-5.7%, SLB
-5.6%, HAL
-5.2%, VLO
-3.7%.
Other noteworthy decliners include: FTI
-5.4%, HAL
-5.2%, PAA
-4.2%, NOV
-3.7%, EOG
-3.4%, FANG
-3.2%, PXD
-2.9%, MRO
-2.8%, BKR
-2.8%, COP
-2.6%, CVX
-2.5%, BP
-2.4%, SHEL
-2.3%, ET
-2.3%, RIG
-2%.
But Occidental Petroleum (OXY
+5.6%) bucked the trend, settling sharply higher on heavy volume.
ETFs: USO, UCO, SCO, BNO, XOP, VDE, OIH
The shellacking in oil and gas names comes as the broader S&P 500 rebounded, jumping 2.6% in its biggest gain since June 2020.
"The world is working together to tackle surging oil prices and that has put a short-term top for crude," according to Oanda analyst Ed Moya.
Also possibly weighing on traders are warnings from the CERAWeek conference by ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance and other U.S. drillers that crude prices at current levels could start to hurt demand.