Trump's Coronavirus Diagnosis Has Oil Crashing, but Oil Stocks Are Surging: Here's Why

Crude oil futures are falling sharply following news that President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with COVID-19. At this writing, both West Texas Intermediate and key international benchmark Brent crude are down 4%. If current prices hold through closing, Brent's $39.33 per barrel and WTI's current $37.12 would be the lowest closing prices for either since June.

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When oil prices fall sharply, oil stocks tend to go along for the ride. Today, many oil stocks are rallying higher, and it's hard to identify an obvious reason. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT: XLE), which tracks the 26 energy stocks in the S&P 500 Index, is up about 1%, while the broader stock market is down today. Oil producers Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN), Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ: FANG), and Apache (NASDAQ: APA) shares are some of the biggest gainers, up more than 4% today. As of this writing, 22 of the 26 S&P 500 energy stocks are higher, and of the four that have fallen, only Hess (NYSE: HES) shares are down more than 1%.

Source Fool.com