The energy sector is outperforming the S&P 500 by the widest margin on record amid war in Ukraine, investment research firm says

• The energy sector is far outpacing the broader stock market in 2022.
• Energy ETF XLE has outperformed a popular S&P 500 ETF by more than 50 percentage points in the last 50 trading days.

The energy sector is surging past the broader stock market, notching the widest margin of outperformance compared to the S&P 500 ever recorded as Russia's war on Ukraine creates jarring supply shocks.

Bespoke Investment Group points out in a note on Wednesday that the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (ticker: XLE) is up over 40% in the last 50 trading days compared to the popular S&P 500 ETF SPY's loss of 11% in the same period.

The margin of more than 50 percentage points is the widest margin of outperformance in a 50-day period since XLE began trading in 1999. Since then, both indexes have seen about the same returns, and even after XLE's recent surge it is still slightly underperforming SPY over the last 23 years, Bespoke analysts noted.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, commodity prices have ballooned across the board. Oil surged to nearly $140 a barrel early Monday, and remains at multi-year highs on Wednesday. Option calls for oil futures piled in earlier this week, calling for May Brent futures to hit $200 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the stock market is on the verge of flashing a "death cross" for the first time in two years, suggesting possible further downside ahead.