It’s been a rough start for stocks in 2025, as major U.S. indices continue to trade in the red and underperform their international counterparts. Investors have had few places to hide outside of gold, but the energy sector has been one bright spot.
While still negative year-to-date, the SDPR Energy Select Sector ETF (NYSE: XLE) is down only 4.2% in 2025, compared to a 9.8% decline in the S&P 500.
