Perhaps All Roads Lead Back to Exxon

Exxon, of course one part of the ExxonMobile Corporation since the 1999 merger, used to part of the Standard Oil trust, specifically Standard Oil of New Jersey. There is a rich history, some violent, some catastrophic, in my original hometown of Bayonne, New Jersey dating back to 1900. 

Even with the long-term struggles of crude oil itself, it is instructive to note that XOM, bellow on its monthly chart, has been consolidating tightly for three years now just below the ephemeral all-time highs printed in October 2024, as I have highlighted for you. And now we have natural gas and especially gasoline pushing higher again today to virtually no fanfare. We know the oil service stocks in the OIH ETF have been outperforming for a while now. 

However, if oil is to make a surprise move higher into the holidays alongside gas prices it is highly likely oil bulls will need to see the $500 billion market cap ExxonMobil get involved in the action. The three-year tight consolidation is just begging to uncoil higher.

And this may be the best shot oil bulls have had in a long time, especially with all the saber rattling surrounding oil-rich Venezuela of late. 

Elsewhere, with the semiconductors down 2% today keep an eye on AMAT earnings this Thursday, as the sector is acting uncharacteristically nervous in light of yesterday's snapback rally--In most prior instances the squeeze would be on and follow-through higher was easy as pie for longs.