$100 Crude Hammered Industrial Stocks — Should You Buy The Dip?

The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLI) just posted its worst month since September 2022.

The ETF, launched in 1998 from State Street Global Advisors, fell roughly 10% in March as the war in Iran sent crude oil surging past $100 a barrel and gutted margins across airlines, manufacturers, and capital goods companies.

Monthly drops of this magnitude have occurred only 11 times in XLI’s 27-year history. The more interesting finding is what happened next.

Why Oil Prices Are Kryptonite For Industrials

Industrial companies are among the most energy-intensive businesses in the S&P 500. They burn diesel to move freight, jet fuel to fly passengers, and natural gas to run factories.

When oil rises by nearly 50% in a month, their cost structures blow up — but the prices they charge customers adjust with a lag, if at all.

That’s exactly what happened in March.

The Iran war closed the Strait of Hormuz, Brent crude surged above $110, and the margin compression hit industrials from every angle. Airlines that had abandoned fuel hedging got obliterated.

Manufacturers saw input costs spike. Equipment companies watched their customers freeze capital spending.

The Hardest-Hit Stocks In XLI – March 2026

The damage has been steepest in the most oil-sensitive corners of the sector.

Airlines, which treat jet fuel as their single largest variable cost, led the decline. Building products and HVAC companies — usually seen as steady compounders — were caught in the crossfire as rising rates and energy costs simultaneously threaten housing activity.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) fell 25.5% in March — the worst performer in the S&P 500 industrials index. Axon Enterprise Inc. (NASDAQ:

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