Exxon Mobil's 1.93% Plunge and 76th Volume Rank Signal Industry Shift as Offshore Drilling Budgets Cut 12%

Exxon Mobil (XOM) closed 1.93% lower on October 10, 2025, with a trading volume of $1.53 billion, ranking 76th among U.S. equities by daily liquidity. The decline came amid mixed signals from energy sector dynamics and macroeconomic uncertainty ahead of key policy decisions.

Recent reports highlighted a strategic shift in exploration budgets, with the company announcing a 12% reduction in offshore drilling expenditures for 2026. Analysts noted this aligns with broader industry trends toward near-term cost optimization, though the move raised questions about long-term production capacity. Simultaneously, regulatory developments in offshore leasing programs created short-term volatility, with revised auction timelines adding to market ambiguity.

Technical indicators showed declining short-term momentum, with the 50-day moving average crossing below the 200-day level—a bearish pattern that could reinforce near-term downward pressure. Institutional trading data revealed a 7% drop in average daily position sizes from hedge funds, suggesting reduced conviction in the stock's immediate trajectory.

To run this back-test accurately I need to clarify a few practical details: 1. Universe definition • “Top 500 stocks by daily trading volume” – should the ranking be done across the entire U.S. stock universe each day, or within a specific index (e.g., S&P 500)? • If it’s the full universe, do you want an equal-weight portfolio of the selected 500 names each day? 2. Transaction assumptions • Entry/exit price: buy at the same day’s close and sell at the next day’s close, or buy next-day open and sell next-day close? • Any transaction costs or slippage to include? 3. Output preference • Are you interested in portfolio-level metrics only (CAGR, max drawdown, Sharpe, etc.), or also the daily P&L time-series? Once I have these points I can set up the data pulls and run the back-test.