To The Moon

The S&P 500 and Dow fell more than 1%, the NASDAQ dropped nearly 3%, and indexes of some European countries declined more than 10%.

The shortest month of the year was a tough one for U.S. stocks, as the S&P 500 fell 3.1% in February on the heels of a 5.7% drop in January. February also marked the first time in 16 months that the S&P 500 failed to post a record daily closing high.

The CBOE Volatility Index—also known as the VIX—rose nearly 16% to around 32.

Weekly Index Returns From Last WeekOther Markets:

The price of U.S crude oil $Light Crude Oil - main 2204(CLmain)$ blew past the $100-per-barrel threshold, climbing to as high as $116, the highest level since 2011. On Friday, oil was trading around $115, up nearly 25% for the week.

Gold Futures $Gold - main 2204(GCmain)$ witnessed its highest weekly close since November 2020 last week as geopolitical concerns centring on Russia have revived yellow metal’s demand as a safe haven.

Companies in the S&P 500 recorded an average earnings gain of 31% over the same quarter a year earlier, That result marked the fourth consecutive quarter of growth exceeding 30%. Industrial was the strongest among all 11 sectors, with earnings growth of 94%.

The U.S. economy generated the strongest job growth in seven months, beating most economists’ expectations with 678,000 jobs added in February.

S&P 500 11 Sectors Performances:

Last week, Energy, Utilities, Basic Material Sectors rose above 3%, Communication Services, Technology, Consumer Cyclical, and Financial sector dropped more than 3%.

Inside Energy Sector:

$(COP)$ rose 9.86%, ConocoPhillips has gained 77.58% over the last 12 months, and the average rating from Wall Street analysts is a Buy.

$(EOG)$ rose 10.69%, Wall Street analysts forecast that EOG Resources, Inc. will announce sales of $5.41 billion for the current quarter.

$(PXD)$ rose 5.18%, Pioneer Natural Resources had its target price increased by equities research analysts at KeyCorp from $235.00 to $252.00.

$(DVN)$ rose 7.92%,Devon Energy Corp is higher by 150.55% over the last 12 months, and the average rating from Wall Street analysts is a Buy.

$(XOM)$ rose 8.03%, Exxon stock could see a major rise in the coming months with price predictions for crude oil increasing due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

$(CVX)$ rose 13.01%, MKM Partners analyst John Gerdes increased the price target on Chevron from $151 while maintaining a “Buy” rating on the shares. Chevron now expects to buy back between $5 billion and $10 billion of its shares every year.

$(WMB)$ ROSE 9.06%, The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.42 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.70 per share to shareholders. Investors that purchase the stock on or after the 10th of March will not receive the dividend.

The Week Ahead: March 7-11