Oil prices are up, and they’re bringing energy stocks along with them: The energy sector is the S&P 500’s best-performing segment this quarter. That’s a turnaround from this spring, when it was the biggest laggard.
Energy stocks are vulnerable to the boom-and-bust cycles that are common in commodity markets. Last year, the sector was the only segment of the S&P 500 to end with gains after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices surging.