Energy exchange traded funds have rallied over the past month as oil prices grind their way back to $100 a barrel and the sector ETFs extend their market lead.
Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLE) is up 8.2% over the past month, compared with a 3.9% gain for the S&P 500. Year to date, the energy ETF has climbed 17% while the broader market has advanced 8%, according to Morningstar.
Energy ETF holding Chevron (NYSE: CVX) is up more than 20% so far in 2011. The rally in the top Dow component is one reason why the index is outperforming the S&P 500 this year. [Why Dow Industrial ETFs are Beating the S&P 500 This Year]
The energy ETF “is outperforming today with the point and figure (P&F) price chart nearing a spread triple-top breakout, a move which would notch a new 2011 high. Beyond that we would look for a test of the 2008 high, also the all-time high, at $91.42 a share,” according to the Coe Report, a newsletter from Investors Intelligence.