By John Stewart
Chief Investment Officer at Farmers Trust Co.

Week in Review: Oil Rising Again

Oil prices are on the move again, up roughly 10% in the past month after falling for several months prior.

Many reasons are being cited for the move higher, with the most headline grabbing being the recent tensions between the U.S. and Iran – currently in talks regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

Recent data also showed a surprise 600,000 barrel reduction in oil inventories, leading to potential supply concerns going forward.

In addition, OPEC recently reaffirmed its decision to pause production increases through at least March to help support the crude oil market.

With oil and other commodities seeing upward pricing pressures, the Fed may be hard pressed to cut interest rates again any time soon.  In fact, a few Fed governors have even hinted at the possibility of rate hikes if inflation remains above the 2% target.

Investing isn’t just about knowing how to pick the best stocks … or sectors … or asset classes for that matter.

It’s about ensuring you create a portfolio that will ensure you don’t make mistakes – or outsourcing that job to someone else who can do that for you.

Most investors, whether it’s in stocks or mutual funds, will get pushed into making poor decisions by the market because of their emotions.

You may buy a great stock, but if you panic and sell when it drops 20% only to miss out when it rallies by 200%, what good did it do you?          

Many investors underperform the investments they invest in because they buy after prices go up and sell after prices go down. The bottom line: Build a portfolio that will insulate you from your emotional biases – easier said than done, but that’s the key.

Looking Ahead: NVIDIA Earnings Report

NVIDIA is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results after the market closes next Wednesday, with analysts expecting revenue of approximately $65.6 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $1.52.

Of course, expectations are always high for this company, and the stock is likely to sell off unless the actual numbers are significantly higher than expectations.

Earnings revision trends for the company have been improving for the past few quarters as CEO Jensen Huang seems to be running out of new superlatives to describe the level of chip demand.

The stock hasn’t really gone anywhere for the past six months, trading in a fairly tight range around $180 per share – it would be hard to bet against the company delivering positive news for investors yet again, as I’m guessing Huang still has a few more tricks up his sleeve.