Oil Breaks $100 on Iran Strike Fears as Energy ETF XLE Hits an All-Time Record

MarketDash

Oct 23, 5:15 PM • 1 hour ago

Oil Breaks $100 on Iran Strike Fears as Energy ETF XLE Hits an All-Time Record

WTI crude jumped above $100 on fears of renewed U.S. strikes on Iran, pushing the energy ETF XLE to a record high while staples, telecoms and the Dow sagged at midday Friday.

Key Points

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.4% to $102.82 a barrel, a five-week high, and Brent gained 3.3% to $116.93 as President Donald Trump said Washington is not negotiating with Tehran and reports surfaced of plans for new strikes after the midterm elections.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) climbed 3% to $69.61, a record high since the fund launched in December 1998, with oil-services names like Halliburton leading the charge.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 489 points, or 0.9%, to 52,379, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6% to 29,131 as tech steadied after Thursday's brutal sell-off.
Consumer staples gave back about half of Thursday's 3.3% surge, with PepsiCo down 2.8% and Procter & Gamble off 2.7%, while carriers sank again on SpaceX's wireless push.
Earnings drove the biggest single-stock moves: Robert Half soared 22.2% on a beat, while LKQ plunged 19.7% after withdrawing guidance and announcing its CEO's exit.

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Oil drove the tape at midday Friday. Crude climbed back above $100 on fears of renewed U.S. strikes on Iran, lifting energy stocks to a fresh record.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.4% to $102.82 a barrel, a five-week high, and Brent gained 3.3% to $116.93. President Donald Trump said Washington is not negotiating with Tehran, while U.S. and Israeli officials have reportedly drawn up plans for new strikes after the midterm elections.

Saudi Aramco also reportedly told staff to evacuate its Dhahran headquarters as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia continued.

Data did little to shift the mood.

S&P Global's flash manufacturing PMI rose to 56.0 in October, above the 55.5 expected, while services eased to 57.9 from 58.8. The University of Michigan's final sentiment index came in at 48.0, beating the 46.3 consensus.

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLE) rose 3% to $69.61, a record high since the fund launched in December 1998.

Treasury yields moved higher.

The 10-year yield rose nearly 3 basis points to 4.99%, still below the 5% level it fell beneath on Thursday. The 2-year yield climbed 4 basis points to 4.69%, and the 30-year yield added 2 basis points to 5.31%.

Gold fell 1% to $4,019 an ounce, and silver slipped 1.4% to $54.25. Natural gas dropped 4.9%. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was little changed near $81,507.

The S&P 500 was flat at 7,654 points, down 9 points, or 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 489 points, or 0.9%, to 52,379.

The Nasdaq 100 rose 172 points, or 0.6%, to 29,131 as tech steadied after Thursday's brutal sell-off. The Russell 2000 slipped 0.2% to 2,778.

Friday's Performance In Major U.S. Indices

According to market data:

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: VOO) dipped 0.2%.
The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE: DIA) fell 1.0%.
The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) rose 0.4%.
The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE: IWM) edged down 0.2%.

Energy Hits a Record as Staples Give Back Thursday's Surge

Oil-services names led the energy rally.

The VanEck Oil Services ETF (NYSE: OIH) jumped 5.5%, and the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE: XOP) rose 3.2%. Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) gained 5.8%.

Consumer staples were the weakest sector. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLP) fell 1.8%, giving back about half of Thursday's 3.3% jump. PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) lost 2.8% and Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) dropped 2.7%.

Technology and real estate also rose, while the other seven sectors fell between 0.3% and 1.4%.

Carriers sank again on SpaceX's wireless push. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) fell 5.6%, T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) lost 5.4% and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) slipped 1.5%.

Tower owners moved the other way. Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) surged 10.7% and American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) rose 4.3% on a Bloomberg report that SpaceX is in talks with tower owners, including Crown Castle, for at least 80,000 U.S. cell sites.

Earnings drove the biggest single-stock moves.

Robert Half Inc. (NYSE: RHI) soared 22.2% after third-quarter EPS of 49 cents beat the 47-cent estimate and its talent solutions unit returned to growth.

UWM Holdings Corp. (NYSE: UWMC) jumped 10.9% after posting preliminary third-quarter revenue of $800 million to $825 million and unveiling plans to sell mortgage servicing rights to pay down debt.

First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA) climbed 8.4% on adjusted EPS of $55.37, well above the $45.98 consensus, and a $1.2 billion buyback. RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) rose 8.3% after raising its outlook, and Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $91 from $41.

LKQ Corp. (NASDAQ: LKQ) plunged 19.7% after withdrawing its full-year guidance, reporting lower preliminary third-quarter revenue of $3.32 billion and announcing the exit of CEO Justin Jude.

Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE: BE) fell 12.3% for a second day as negative free cash flow overshadowed record revenue and a higher outlook. Comfort Systems USA Inc. (NYSE: FIX) dropped 8.2% despite a revenue beat, as it also announced the retirement of CFO Bill George.

SLM Corp. (NASDAQ: SLM), the parent of Sallie Mae, sank 9.1% after cutting its full-year EPS guidance to $1.95-$2.05 from $3.10-$3.20 on higher charge-offs.

Looking Ahead

No major companies report after Friday's close. Next Wednesday, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) report after the bell, with consensus EPS of $3.03 and $4.71. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) follows on Oct. 30, with an estimate of $4.86 per share.

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