---
title: "Energy led the sectors as refiners outran Exxon"
url: "https://etf.net/news/energy-led-the-sectors-as-refiners-outran-exxon-2026-10-01"
published_at: "2026-10-01T20:59:25.103Z"
updated_at: "2026-10-01T20:59:25.103Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# Energy led the sectors as refiners outran Exxon

Marathon, Valero and Phillips 66 outran Exxon as the energy fund rose 1.9% on Thursday, October 1, 2026, the best of the eleven sectors, while health care fell 1.3%.

By ETF.net Research. Published Oct 1, 2026.

Energy led the eleven sectors on Thursday, and the lead belonged to the refiners rather than the oil majors. XLE, the fund that holds the S&P 500's energy companies, rose **1.9%**. Health care was the worst: XLV, which holds that index's health care companies, fell **1.3%**. SPY, the fund that holds the S&P 500, still gained 0.2%.

Chart: Energy led all eleven sectors; health care finished last

## Refiners did the pulling

Marathon Petroleum, Valero and Phillips 66 are about 14% of XLE, and they added 0.7 percentage points to the day's gain. Exxon and Chevron, about 42% of the fund, added 0.4 percentage points between them.

Chart: Marathon, Valero and Phillips **outran** Exxon and Chevron

At 4:25 p.m. Eastern, Brent crude was at $102.37 a barrel, up 4.4% on the day, and WTI was at $92.93, up 2.8%. Exxon and Chevron lagged both. Marathon and Valero rose more than either crude, and the energy fund, weighted toward the majors, rose less than crude.

Kpler data published Wednesday showed crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz back to a seven-day average of 13.5 million barrels a day as of Monday, September 28, matching Kpler's prewar baseline. Refined products were 677,000 barrels a day, against 3.6 million before the war. The split makes sense if the day was about fuel that has not come back, rather than crude that has.

Gasoline futures were at $3.40 a gallon at 4:36 p.m. Eastern, up 4.3% on the day. Heating-oil futures, the diesel contract, were at $4.63 at 4:37 p.m., down 1.3%. The refining stocks rose anyway.

The Institute for Supply Management said the prices manufacturers pay jumped to 77.9 in September from 71.1 in August, driven by steel, aluminum, tariffs and petroleum-based products. It tied the petroleum increase to the Middle East conflict.

Reuters reported that Chinese refiners have suspended oil-product exports beyond Hong Kong and Macau, four people briefed on the matter said. Three of those sources said PetroChina canceled a handful of gasoline and jet-fuel cargoes planned for October.

## Where health care fell

Johnson & Johnson, Thermo Fisher, Amgen and Danaher accounted for 0.6 percentage points of the decline in XLV. Drug distributors moved the other way.

Chart: McKesson jumped as Danaher, Amgen and Thermo Fisher fell

## After the holiday

Reuters' sources said it was not clear whether Chinese fuel exports would resume after Golden Week ends on Wednesday, October 7. Crude through Hormuz is already back. The refined barrels are not.

Source: etf.net, https://etf.net/news/energy-led-the-sectors-as-refiners-outran-exxon-2026-10-01. Please cite the page URL.