Investors pivoted into energy stocks and defensive names during a holiday-shortened week as oil prices rallied, and signs of weakness in the labor market cast a pall over markets. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are both headed for a losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the outlier, up about 0.6% for the week as of 3 pm ET. Energy names advanced on the back of rising oil prices. Both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate futures are set for their third weekly gain, following a surprise production cut from OPEC+. Tightening supply concerns spurred investors to bet on companies such as ConocoPhillips and Hess throughout the week. Health-care names, such as UnitedHealth Group and Johnson & Johnson , also outperformed. Investors looked into defensive sectors as weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected, the latest sign this week of a cooling labor market. Here are other names that outperformed this week as of Thursday morning, according to FactSet. ConocoPhillips was the best-performing name this week, up 7.7% as of 10 am ET on Thursday. The stock has a buy rating from 69% of analysts, and about 22% upside, according to consensus estimates. It’s down about 9% this year. Last month, Goldman Sachs called the exploration and production firm a quality name that investors should focus on amid macro uncertainty. “We are focused on shares of quality producers with attractive valuations. These are companies with strong balance sheets, deeper inventories and lower cost assets,” Goldman Sachs’ Umang Choudhary wrote in a March 23 note. UnitedHealth Group was the second-biggest winner this week, up 7.6% as of this morning. About 73% of analysts covering the health-care stock consider it a buying opportunity, and analysts predict it could rise 17%. UnitedHealth shares are down more than 3% in 2023. Bank of America recently named UnitedHealth one of its top stock picks for the second quarter, saying it’s set to strengthen during periods of economic uncertainty given its scale and exposure to the Medicare Advantage market. Johnson & Johnson shares also outperformed this week, up 6.7%. However, only 22% of analysts covering the pharmaceutical giant recommend investors buy the stock. This week, Johnson & Johnson said it would pay $8.9 billion over the next 25 years to settle allegations that talc in its baby powder and other products caused cancer.
