However, energy shares have been weak after peaking in mid-December, and are the worst-performing of the Standard & Poor's 11 stock sectors in 2017. In 2017, energy is down 5 percent, compared with a 6 percent climb for the overall S&P 500. "We think you're going to get good inventory numbers, which will propel a rally in the commodities, and take the exploration and production companies higher." The Energy Sector Select SPDR Fund, which has about $17.6 billion in assets, has attracted $400 million of new investment, according to Lipper data. Since the election, refiners are up more than 9.5 percent, while oil producers have gained less than 2 percent, the weakest energy sub-sector.

Source: The Edge Markets March 05, 2017 21:56 UTC