Why Exxon, Chevron, and Phillips 66 Shares Plunged on Friday

Shares of ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) plunged on Friday, down 5.6%, 5.6%, and 5.7%, respectively, as of 1:43 p.m. ET. The sector was an outlier, as the broader indexes were rallying at that time.

As is usually the case when there are big moves across multiple large oil stocks, or any stock in the same sector, there wasn't any material news out of these three companies at the individual level. Rather, the synchronous move had to do with macroeconomic concerns. Specifically, oil prices plunged today, down more nearly 7%, as oil traders appeared to begin pricing in a potential recession.

Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve raised the Federal Funds Rate by 75 basis points, the most aggressive single-session tightening since 1994, in an effort to bring down inflation. Unfortunately, with inflation beginning to metastasize into the broader economy, the Fed might have to force the economy into a recession in order to control prices.

Source Fool.com