{"id":26415,"date":"2026-03-11T03:29:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T03:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=26415"},"modified":"2026-03-11T03:29:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T03:29:34","slug":"what-do-higher-oil-prices-mean-for-stocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=26415","title":{"rendered":"What Do Higher Oil Prices Mean for Stocks?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Energy has been the<\/em> story in the markets for at least the past year.<\/p>\n

Prior to last week, when investors talked about the energy sector, it was in relation to how it would feed AI.<\/p>\n

But now, because of the war in the Middle East, the main topic on everyone\u2019s mind when it comes to energy is the surge in oil prices.<\/p>\n

On February 20, I told readers in my Technical Pattern Profits<\/em> VIP Trading Service that if oil got above $65, it was likely going to $80 quickly \u2013 and after it reached $80, I said it would go on to $95.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, just 17 days after my initial prediction, it crossed $100.<\/p>\n

There have only been three times in the past 44 years that oil has spiked above $100 per barrel. It happened in 2008, from 2011 to 2014, and in 2022 coming out of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Oil is back down in the low $80s as I write, but it\u2019s still markedly higher than the mid-$50s prices we saw near the end of last year.<\/p>\n

That obviously causes pain at the pump and raises inflation, as everything gets more costly to ship.<\/p>\n

But what does it mean for stocks?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at five previous periods when oil spiked.<\/p>\n

In 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, oil prices quickly doubled from around $20 per barrel to more than $40. You can see that during that move in oil, the S&P 500 had a nearly identical inverse reaction.<\/p>\n

\"Chart:<\/a><\/p>\n

Nine years later, as the dot-com boom was entering its final phase, oil surged from about $10 per barrel to nearly $40 a year and a half later.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, as oil rose, the S&P \u2013 caught in the final throes of dot-com mania \u2013 did not slide immediately. In fact, it continued to rise even though the rally was clearly running out of gas (pun intended).<\/p>\n

Then, just as oil peaked, the market began its plummet.<\/p>\n

\"Chart:<\/a><\/p>\n

$100 Oil<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first time oil broke above $100 was January 2, 2008.<\/p>\n

Like we saw during the dot-com boom, as oil began its rise, the market didn\u2019t drop immediately. But that $100 level proved too much. In conjunction with the global financial crisis, the market melted down. Oil ascending to $145 put additional pressure on stocks.<\/p>\n

\"Chart:<\/a><\/p>\n

The global recession brought oil prices back in check, but they quickly began surging again when the Arab Spring uprisings began in December 2010. Oil bounced around between roughly $75 and $110 for the next three years.<\/p>\n

After the pounding from the financial crisis, stocks got up off the mat, even as oil prices doubled between 2009 and 2011 and then stayed elevated for several years. The S&P continued higher despite the high price of oil.<\/p>\n

\"Chart:<\/a><\/p>\n

The COVID crash in 2020 obliterated both oil prices and stock prices. They quickly recovered together until oil hit $100, which was around the same time that stocks topped out and the 2022 bear market began.<\/p>\n

\"Chart:<\/a><\/p>\n

So what have we learned?<\/p>\n

Investing when oil prices are rising is like driving during a bad storm. It doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that a crash is coming and it\u2019s time to panic. But you should be paying closer attention and proceeding more carefully.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n