Energy stocks dominated in the first quarter

Good morning, Insiders.?Today we're talking about why energy stocks have performed so poorly during the first quarter of the year.?

April Fool's. The energy sector dramatically outperformed the broader market in the first three months of the year.?

Let's jump in.

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1. Energy stocks dominated in the first quarter.?The?top 20 gainers ?in the S&P 500 over the last three months were almost exclusively oil and gas stocks. The energy sector within the index jumped about 40% as?energy prices soared ?on supply concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.?

The broader?S&P 500 , however, was dragged into a correction during the period but pared its loss to about 4% for the quarter. All three of the major indexes saw their?first negative quarter ?in two years, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.?

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, energy prices have soared, yanking stock prices up with them. The top gainers on the broad-equity index included the?Buffett-backed Occidental Petroleum , as well as?Halliburton .

Oil prices plummeted Thursday, however,?as the Biden Administration weighed the?largest-ever release ?from the strategic reserves. The decision is set to push through, and the approval will greenlight the release of as much as 180 million barrels over six months from its official stockpiles.

In other news:

2. US futures are edging higher ahead of non-farm payrolls later.?Stocks capped off their first negative quarter since before the COVID-19 pandemic began.?Here is your markets round-up.

3.?One of Tesla's biggest bulls explained why its second stock split in two years is just one of many catalysts driving shares higher this year.?The 30-year Wall Street veteran and Goldman Sachs alum said that?the EV giant would still be cheap at $1,600 per share in the next six to 12 months.?

4.?Wall Street's top stock-pickers are backing these bitcoin mining companies as tokens rally to erase 2022 losses.?These stocks in the crypto mining sector can benefit from bitcoin's March bounce, according to TipRanks' analyst consensus metric.?See the full list.

5.?Further upside in crypto is limited, according to JPMorgan, because stablecoin ownership is in decline.?The share of stablecoins in the total crypto market have fallen to 7% from 10% —?and the bank said the recent crypto rally is likely on its last legs.

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This newsletter was curated by Phil Rosen. Thoughts or questions? Sound off in the comments section below.