{"id":74593,"date":"2026-11-12T15:07:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T19:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/energy-stocks-surge-as-oil-prices-climb-major-indexes-mixed-in-afternoon-trading\/74593\/"},"modified":"2026-11-12T15:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T19:07:13","slug":"energy-stocks-surge-as-oil-prices-climb-major-indexes-mixed-in-afternoon-trading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/energy-stocks-surge-as-oil-prices-climb-major-indexes-mixed-in-afternoon-trading\/74593\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Stocks Surge as Oil Prices Climb; Major Indexes Mixed in Afternoon Trading"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. equity markets displayed a bifurcated performance during Thursday afternoon trading, as a significant rally in energy commodities and rising Treasury yields reshaped investor sentiment. While the blue-chip heavy Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average managed to stay afloat, the broader S&P 500<\/a> and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite faced downward pressure, weighed down by a retreat in high-growth technology names and a sharp sell-off in precious metals and cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n

Major Index Performance and Afternoon Trends<\/h2>\n

As of Thursday afternoon, the major market indexes are showing divergent paths. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA<\/a>) is the lone outlier among the majors, posting a modest gain of 0.02%. In contrast, the S&P 500 (SPY<\/a>) has slipped 0.12%, while the Nasdaq Composite (QQQ<\/a>) is down 0.18%. Small-cap stocks are facing the steepest declines of the day, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM<\/a>) tumbling 1.28%.<\/p>\n

The afternoon session has been characterized by a "risk-off" sentiment in certain pockets of the market, particularly in fixed income and commodities. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT<\/a>) dropped 1.37% as yields climbed, reflecting investor concerns over persistent inflationary pressures following recent economic data. This rise in yields has inversely affected gold<\/a> and silver<\/a>, with the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD<\/a>) falling 2.67% and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV<\/a>) dropping 3.11%.<\/p>\n

Sector Highlights: Energy Leads, Tech Lags<\/h2>\n

The standout performer of the day is undoubtedly the energy sector. Driven by a 2.72% jump in the United States Oil Fund (USO<\/a>), energy-related equities have surged. The State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE<\/a>) is up 2.02%, while the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP<\/a>) has gained 2.40%. Utilities (XLU<\/a>) also saw defensive buying, rising 0.63%.<\/p>\n

Conversely, the technology sector (XLK<\/a>) is down 0.37%, and the semiconductor space is underperforming the broader market. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH<\/a>) fell 1.16%, as investors recalibrate expectations ahead of major earnings. The digital asset space is also seeing a significant correction, with the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT<\/a>) falling 4.21% and the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA<\/a>) dropping 3.38%.<\/p>\n

Major Stock News and Corporate Developments<\/h2>\n

In corporate news, Nvidia<\/a> Corp (NVDA<\/a>) remains the most active stock<\/a> by dollar volume, though its shares have retreated 13.1% to $164.26 in a volatile session as the market looks ahead to its earnings next week. Meanwhile, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD<\/a>) bucked the semiconductor trend, rising 2.9% to $580.62.<\/p>\n

In the premarket<\/a> and early afternoon, several smaller names saw massive moves. Phaos Technology Holdings (POAS<\/a>) skyrocketed 199.8%, and Intuitive Machines, Inc. (LUNR<\/a>) jumped 17.8% to $13.51. On the losing side, Tutor Perini Corporation (TPC<\/a>) saw a dramatic decline of 85.1%.<\/p>\n

Upcoming Market Events<\/h2>\n

Investors are laser-focused on the conclusion of the trading day and the subsequent earnings releases. After the close today, Applied Materials Inc (AMAT<\/a>) is scheduled to report its Q4 2026 results, with an estimated EPS of $4.06. As a bellwether for chip-making equipment, its results will likely dictate the opening direction for the semiconductor sector tomorrow. Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU<\/a>) is also set to report after the bell.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to next week, the market is bracing for the "main event": Nvidia<\/a>'s earnings on Wednesday, November 18th. With a market cap nearing $5 trillion, the AI giant's results are expected to be the primary driver of market volatility for the remainder of the month. Additionally, retail giants like Home Depot, Inc. (HD<\/a>) and Target Corporation (TGT<\/a>) will provide critical insights into consumer spending health when they report next Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. equity markets displayed a bifurcated performance during Thursday afternoon trading, as a significant rally in energy commodities and rising […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,6824],"tags":[633,828,3710,4223,4380,4457,5716],"class_list":["post-74593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-market-update","category-featured","tag-nvda","tag-amat","tag-federal-reserve","tag-inflation","tag-stock-market","tag-oil-prices","tag-energy-sector"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}