Omor Ibne Ehsan
5 min read
Quick Read
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XOM and CVX each rose about 2.5% as Brent crude topped $110 and tech stocks shed over $1 trillion in a single session.
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Federal forecasters once projected Brent averaging just $89 in Q4 2026 once the Strait of Hormuz reopens, exposing energy stocks to a sharp reversal.
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Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, passed $110 a barrel soon after 2:30 p.m. ET on October 16, 2026, its highest level since May. It finished the week just under that mark at $109.86. U.S. crude (WTI) rose 3.5% and closed at $101.41.
In the same session, tech stocks lost more than a trillion dollars in value. The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.5%, and the Philadelphia semiconductor index dropped 3.8%, its eighth straight losing day.
ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) rose 2.46% to close at $178.98. That is just below its 52-week high of $179.16 and gives the company a market value of $735.95 billion. Chevron (NYSE:CVX) rose 2.59% to $224.99.
Both moves came from crude prices, since the companies were quiet on October 16. If you own oil and tech stocks together, that one shock raised part of your portfolio and pulled down the rest.
Why One Oil Shock Hit Two Sectors at Once
The war that began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February closed the Strait of Hormuz. Before the fighting, nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply passed through it. Ukrainian attacks have also shut down much of Russia’s refining capacity.
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Oil producers’ costs stay mostly fixed, so higher crude prices go mostly to profit. Growth stocks move in the opposite direction. Costlier fuel pushes up inflation, making it more likely the Federal Reserve will raise rates again this year. Growth stocks are priced on those future profits. Higher rates make profits expected years from now worth less in today’s dollars.
