Oil Shock Sends High-Flying Materials Stocks to Rock Bottom

One of the US stock market’s biggest winners this year has turned into the worst-hit sector since the start of the Iran War as a spike in oil prices has boosted industrial production costs.

Sealant maker PPG Industries Inc., packaging company Smurfit Westrock Plc, paper producer International Paper Co. and concrete producer Vulcan Materials Co. are just a few names that have plunged at least 16% between the market close on Feb. 27 and March 18, dragging the 26-member S&P 500 Materials Index down 10% during that period. All but four of its constituents have declined since the fighting began. Before the war, just one index member was in the red for the year.