The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that record-high metal prices, strong fourth quarter earnings and an expected uptick in demand for chemicals had propelled the materials sector earlier in 2026. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that Global X's Scott Helfstein says, "Investors are questioning whether or not demand for materials will be strong given higher oil prices that potentially dampen consumer demand, and investment and corporate investment." Metals stocks have pulled back too, after a record run last year. After soaring 168 per cent in 2025, gold miner Newmont shares are down 25 per cent since the start of the war. However, some stocks in the materials sector have surged during the war. Petrochemical and fertilizer firms such as Lyondellbasell Industries NV, Dow Inc. and CF Industries Holdings Inc. have gained more than 20 per cent as constrained supply from peers in the Middle East is expected to drive up demand and prices for North American producers. Canadian fertilizer firm Nutrien rose as much as 12 per cent before paring some of those gains. Even with the war-induced declines, investors have not fully abandoned the sector, which is still up about 6 per cent so far this year.