NEW YORK, Jan 2, 2026, 18:49 ET — After-hours
- Exxon rose nearly 2% in Friday’s regular session; after-hours trade was little changed.
- Oil ended slightly lower as traders weighed oversupply fears ahead of Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting.
- Record U.S. LNG exports in 2025 put more focus on 2026 start-ups like Golden Pass.
Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) shares closed up 1.9% at $122.65 on Friday and were last little changed in after-hours trading. The stock traded between $119.66 and $122.78 in the regular session, with about 14.2 million shares changing hands.
The advance came on the first trading day of 2026, with investors rotating into value-linked corners of the market while waiting on next week’s U.S. data. The S&P 500 ended up 0.19% and the Dow gained 0.66%, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.03%.
Oil remained the immediate swing factor for energy majors after crude logged its biggest annual fall since 2020. Brent settled at $60.75 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed at $57.32; both benchmarks fell nearly 20% in 2025. “Oil prices are locked in this long-term trading range,” said Phil Flynn, a senior analyst at Price Futures Group. Reuters
Traders are also focused on Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting, where the producer group is expected to keep output targets steady for the first quarter, three delegates said. OPEC+ is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia.
On the gas side, investors are watching the U.S. export boom in liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is natural gas cooled into a liquid so it can be shipped. The United States exported 111 million metric tons of LNG in 2025, a record, and Poten and Partners expects the first train — a processing unit that liquefies gas — at Golden Pass LNG, a QatarEnergy-Exxon joint venture, to start producing in the first quarter of 2026.
Other big energy names rose alongside Exxon. Chevron added 2.3% and ConocoPhillips gained 3.3% on Friday, while Valero also ended higher, market data showed.
Exxon opened near $120 and spent much of the day climbing, finishing near its session high as buyers returned to the group after a weak year-end for crude.
Oil itself closed slightly lower as investors balanced oversupply concerns against headline risk ranging from Ukraine to Venezuela and the Middle East.
The weekend sets up two tests for sentiment: what OPEC+ says about supply in the first quarter, and whether geopolitical headlines change the market’s view on near-term barrels.
For Exxon, the next read-through is whether LNG projects start up on schedule and whether incremental U.S. export volumes find homes as Europe heads deeper into winter and Asian demand fluctuates.
Investors will also watch U.S. economic releases next week for clues on rates and growth — inputs that can shape oil demand expectations as quickly as supply news.
After Friday’s close, Exxon was up about $2.30 from Thursday’s finish. With crude still trading in a narrow band, day-to-day moves in oil and gas prices are likely to remain the main driver for XOM until the next company catalyst lands.
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