Oil and gas stocks pace the S&P 500 gainers as crude futures surge

The S&P 500’s top gainers were littered with shares companies in the energy sector, as crude oil futures surged on worries over a drop in exports from Russia. The SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF
XLE,
+3.19%
climbed 2.5% in morning trading, with all 23 equity components gaining ground, as crude oil futures
CL00,
+2.40%
jumped 3.5%. Of the S&P 500’s top-25 gainers, 20 are stocks of energy companies. Among the most active of those best performers, shares of Occidental Petroleum Corp.
OXY,
+3.48%
climbed 2.5%, Exxon Mobil Corp.
XOM,
+2.64%
rose 2.1%, Marathon Oil Corp.
MRO,
+2.77%
tacked on 2.3%, Devon Energy Corp.
DVN,
+3.99%
ran up 2.6% and Schlumberger Ltd.
SLB,
+3.11%
advanced 2.6%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.59%
rose 0.1%.