The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) isn't having a great day today. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is down a substantial 0.76% to 7,470 points.
Looking at which ASX 200 shares are contributing to this fall today, and, well, it seems to be all of them. ASX bank shares like Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) have fallen . The miners like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) are down. Even CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) has taken a hit.
But one ASX 200 sector is bucking the trend today, and decisively so. That would be ASX 200 energy shares.
Yep, energy shares are certainly helping to cap the ASX 200 losses this Thursday. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is up a healthy 0.45% today. That's being enabled by companies like Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH), both up by 1.14% and 1.33% respectively at the time of writing.
Even Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) is in the green, currently up 0.1% to $19.76 a share, after an initial fall this morning.
Not all energy shares are in the green today though. For instance, one of the ASX's largest oil companies in Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) is still down today.
Still, ASX 200 energy shares are certainly shining today overall. So what gives?
Image source: Getty Images
ASX energy shares burn bright
Well, we can probably put the strength that the ASX energy sector is displaying today down to recent movements in the price of crude oil – the lifeblood of energy companies like Woodside, Oil Search and Santos. According to Bloomberg, Brent crude was being priced at less than US$66 a barrel less than two weeks ago. Today, it's going for US$71.37 a barrel.
That's a significant change in value in a short space of time, and represents a meaningful boost to the kind of cash flows energy shares can bring in, especially if pricing holds at these new levels for a while.
It could be this bounce back in crude oil pricing that is behind the ASX energy sector's strength this Thursday.
