S&P 500 newbie First Solar is only non-energy company among index’s top YTD gainers

Shares of First Solar Inc.
FSLR,
+1.92%
climbed 1.8% in afternoon trading Thursday, and has run up 70.7% in 2022. The solar power systems maker, which has been an S&P 500 member for less than two weeks, is the only non-energy company in the index’s top-10 best year-to-date performers. First Solar’s stock was down 11.9% year to date as late as July 27, but then started its climb to a 13-year closing high of $172.30 on Nov. 30, after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., agreed to support an economic bill that included spending on clean energy. Meanwhile, the rest of the S&P 500’s
SPX,
+1.82%
top-10 YTD gainers were companies in the fossil fuel business, led by shares of Occidental Petroleum Corp.
OXY,
+0.56%,
up 115.9%, and Hess Corp.
HES,
+1.66%,
up 91.3%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has dropped 19.2% this year.