NEW YORK, January 2, 2026, 11:09 ET — Regular session
- Exxon Mobil shares rose about 0.6% in mid-morning trading.
- Oil prices slipped at the start of 2026 after their steepest annual drop since 2020.
- Traders are focused on an OPEC+ policy meeting Sunday and next week’s U.S. jobs report.
Shares of Exxon Mobil were up 0.6% at $121.07 by 10:55 a.m. ET, after trading between $119.66 and $121.10 earlier in the session.
Oil prices slipped as 2026 trading opened after both Brent and U.S. crude logged annual losses of nearly 20% in 2025, their steepest drop since 2020, with investors weighing oversupply worries against geopolitical risks. Brent fell 51 cents to $60.34 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was down 52 cents at $56.90 by 1350 GMT. “As of now, we are expecting a fairly boring year for (Brent) oil prices, range-bound around $60-65 a barrel,” DBS energy analyst Suvro Sarkar said. 1
U.S. stocks also opened the year on firmer footing, with technology shares leading gains after a choppy finish to 2025. 2
Energy traders are now looking to Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting for signals on supply. OPEC+ — the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus allies including Russia — is expected to keep output policy steady, delegates told Reuters, after the group raised targets by about 2.9 million barrels per day from April to December 2025 and paused further increases for the first quarter of 2026. 3
Other oil-linked names also edged higher. Chevron gained 0.8% and ConocoPhillips rose 1.5% in mid-morning trading.
Exxon often trades as a proxy for the oil tape because crude prices feed directly into upstream profits — the earnings from producing oil and gas. The company’s refining and chemical businesses can soften that link when margins improve, because they make money turning crude into fuels and other products.
The near-term push and pull for investors is whether supply discipline can offset weak pricing momentum after last year’s slump. Any surprise shift from OPEC+ on the pace of production increases can move crude quickly and spill into major oil stocks.
Macro data also sits on the radar. A U.S. jobs report due January 9 is among the first major reads of 2026 on growth and fuel demand, and investors are also watching for fresh trade-policy and central-bank signals that could sway the outlook for consumption. 4
For Exxon shareholders, the next catalysts are less about company-specific announcements and more about where crude settles heading into the weekend — and what OPEC+ signals about balancing supply in early 2026.
Exxon shares were last up about 0.6% on the day, with traders watching oil prices, OPEC+ messaging and broader risk appetite for the next directional cue.
