The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) is crumbling in step with the broader equities market
Wall Street is
in panic mode today, as oil pans 12-year lows on continued oversupply fears. Specifically, February crude futures -- which expired this afternoon -- settled down 6.7% at $26.55 per barrel, after earlier hitting their lowest point since May 2003. Echoing this negative price action is the
Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLE), which was last seen off 4.2% at $50.97. With all eyes on oil, Schaeffer's Quantitative Analyst Chris Prybal -- who recently offered up
some interesting stock market indicators at extremes -- highlighted five interesting facts about the exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks S&P 500 Index (SPX) stocks in the energy sector.
- The XLE's all-time high of $101.52 -- hit in June 2014 -- is roughly five times the ETF's all-time low of $19.38, tagged in July 2002.
- The ETF's 2008 peak near $90 was followed by a 50% retracement to $45 in short order.
- XLE's 2014 peak around $100 has been followed by a quick 50% retracement, last seen at $50.78.
- Per the chart below -- courtesy of amCharts -- the XLE's 5% out-of-the-money put/call skew has plummeted to levels last seen in 2011.
- XLE's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.70 sits in the lowest percentile of its annual range, indicating short-term speculators are more call-heavy now than at any other point in the past year. Meanwhile, the ETF's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.61 sits lower than 98% of all similar readings taken in the last 12 months. In other words, puts have rarely been bought to open over calls at a slower pace over the previous 52 weeks.