Shares of oil producers ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD) and oil field services giant Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) rallied in March, up 11.2%, 11.6%, and 13.2%, respectively, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Global tensions, falling U.S. gasoline stocks, and widening refiner crack spread all contributed to the favorable oil and gas environment in March, continuing the upturn since the beginning of the year. Exxon also announced a new oil discovery and progress in its regulatory process to acquire Pioneer.

Exxon is the largest diversified oil major in the world outside of Saudi Aramco, and Baker Hughes is the second-largest oilfield services firm. Thus, each stock tends to move with the general outlook for oil prices.

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Source Fool.com