| Looking Ahead to Q4 and the Energy Stocks Although I’m a big fan of the change of seasons, I’m grateful September is over because market forces are lining up now for a rally.
I know it’s tough to feel optimistic after a rough September, but the slow month in the markets is par for the course. Here are the last four Septembers in the S&P:
2020: -3.92%
2021: -4.76%
2022: -9.34%
2023: -4.61% as I write Friday morning. 
I’m happy to note that the fourth quarter is seasonally the best time of year for the markets.
Even last year, when everything seemed dominated by the bears, the S&P gained a little over 7% in Q4!
That’s not to say every day in the next three months will be positive, but if history is any indication, the next three months should be more up than down.
Knowing the historical trends feels especially important because it looks like the first few days of Q4 are going to be tough.
But investors have options for how to play this chaos. ADVERTISEMENT This AI Veteran Has One Terrifying Prediction to Make… And a Way to Profit From It Louis Navellier has been honing his AI algorithm since he was a teenager and used the Wells Fargo mainframe to beat the S&P by a ratio of 3-to-1. His stock picks have made given folks the chance to get rich in companies like Google, Nvidia, Cisco, and Microsoft. Now he says he’s identified the company at the center of a trend that could be even bigger than the Internet. To find out what stocks “The King of Quants” is recommending, check out his video here. Government shutdown and energy concerns As I write, the government shutdown seems imminent. Concerns about the effects of the shutdown are part of the reason Treasury yields have been climbing, with the 10-year reaching 4.6% on Wednesday.
Oil prices also continued their assent this week, reigniting inflation concerns. Brent crude was selling for more than $97 per barrel earlier in the week, and West Texas Intermediate crude reached as high as $93.
Higher oil prices during this time of year are counter to historical trends, but a quick look at the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) shows how energy stocks have surged over the last three months. 
Both Brent and WTI crude oil prices are now sitting near their highs for the year, despite the fact that energy prices tend to dip in the fall.
Legendary investor Louis Navellier has been positive about energy stocks since early in 2022. Remember, last year, energy was the only sector to show a positive return.
This year, energy stocks have been a bit forgotten with the surge in tech stocks, mostly from the tailwind generated by artificial intelligence.
As a pioneer in using technology to picks stocks, Louis has always been an aggressive tech investor, but he has not given up his bullish stance on energy. ADVERTISEMENT Why is a Billionaire Betting $135 Million on this $6 Stock? He made $350 million when Microsoft went public. Now he’s pouring $135 million into a company trading for just $6. It has NOTHING to do with ChatGPT or the next big tech stock, and is about to disrupt a $15 trillion market. Click here to learn more. Just this week, he told his Growth Investor subscribers the three factors that will keep energy stocks trending higher over the next several months. Below is a summary of the factors below: - Depleted Inventories: Last week, the American Petroleum Institute revealed that U.S. crude oil inventories declined by a whopping 5.25 million barrels. This week’s data showed a slight build of 1.586 million barrels. API noted that crude oil inventories have declined by more than 51 million barrels since April. Gasoline inventories dropped by 70,000 barrels this week, while distillate inventories declined by 1.698 million barrels. Both gasoline and distillate inventories are now sitting below their five-year averages.
- Potential Supply Disruptions: Crude oil inventories could continue to decline if an event, natural disaster (i.e., a hurricane) or winter weather disrupts production.
- Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia remains in control of crude oil prices and the government there is not a big fan of President Joe Biden. Louis explains:
Back during the 2020 election, Candidate Biden said some unkind things about Saudi Arabia, stating that he found “very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia.” He also promised that as president, he would make the Saudi Arabian government an international “pariah.” And if that wasn’t insulting enough, Candidate Biden also insulted the entire Saudi Royal Family.
So, in my opinion, it’s obvious that Saudi Arabia is keeping crude oil prices high in order to help defeat Biden in the 2024 election. ADVERTISEMENT Stock-Picking Genius Has a Warning for America Louis Navellier identified Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia when they were trading at a fraction of where they are today. Now, one unstoppable trend is about to up-end most of what makes America. Many people will be left unemployed and picking up the pieces. According to Navellier’s chilling warning to America, there may still be time to get ahead of this. He’s sharing his answers here. Just like last year, Louis has his subscribers positioned ahead of the curve. We’ve positioned our Growth Investor Buy Lists to benefit from inflation, especially high food and energy costs, by investing in multiple crude oil refiners, integrated energy companies and food stocks. And many of our energy stocks reasserted their market leadership after energy prices climbed higher in August. I would be remiss if I didn’t remind readers that Louis only picks stocks with superior fundamentals for his Growth Investor buy lists. This means that the upcoming earnings season should prove profitable. Here is Louis again: Our Buy List stocks remain characterized by 160.9% average earnings growth, and analysts have increased earnings estimates by an average 6.9% in the past three months. So, as the third-quarter earnings announcement season gets underway in October, I expect another round of big earnings surprises from our Growth Investor stocks. Just yesterday, Louis also unveiled two new picks for this Growth Investor subscribers. Both have solid fundamentals with analysts expecting strong quarterly earnings, making them ideal Louis Navellier plays.
He also revealed his top five stocks, as he does every monthly issue.
To learn more about Growth Investor and to get Louis top 5 stocks to own now, click here.
Enjoy your weekend,
Luis Hernandez
Editor in Chief, InvestorPlace | 
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