Energy sector strength: Drill down with these refinery stocks 
The oil refiners' exchange-traded fund (ETF), the VanEck Oil Refiners ETF (NYSEARCA: CRAK), is outperforming the broader Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: XLE) on a one-month, three-month and one-year basis. The top components in the CRAK ETF are Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC), Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), all of which have been handily outperforming oil stocks as a group, as well as the broader group of energy stocks. There are a few reasons why the sub-industry of oil refiners can potentially outpace the wider oil and gas industry. Refining is a downstream segment of the oil and gas value chain, focusing on processing crude oil into end products like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Refiners benefit from generally stable demand, even as oil prices fluctuate. Of course, economic factors play a role; in a recession, consumers and businesses will cut back on fuel use. But refiners' revenue streams are less tied to the underlying commodity prices than are drillers and other upstream businesses. Bill Clinton is back.
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