NEW YORK - Investors are gauging how far a rally in beaten-down energy shares could run, as an expected recovery for the coronavirus-hit economy clashes with skepticism about the long-term prospects of fossil fuels.

Energy shares overall soared nearly 27% in November, leading the charge among sectors expected to benefit from the broad economic revival promised by encouraging developments for several vaccines against COVID-19.

The longer term outlook for the sector, however, remains uncertain, as companies throughout the oil and gas supply chain face challenges from the increasing use of “green” energy sources such as wind and solar. Another concern is resistance among fund managers to investing in fossil fuel companies over environmental concerns.

“It’s always hard to be extremely bullish on a sector that is likely in secular decline, and the traditional fossil fuel sector is very likely in secular decline,” said Doug Cohen, a portfolio manager at Fiduciary Trust International.

Coronavirus-related developments will continue to draw investor attention next week, as a U.S. health advisory panel meets Thursday to discuss whether to recommend emergency use authorization of a vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc with German partner BioNTech SE.

The energy sector remains down 37% this year, even as a 13.5% rise has sent the S&P 500 to fresh records. Declining oil prices have seen energy stocks underperform the broad market since the Great Recession, and the market value of energy companies has shrunk to 2.4% of the S&P 500, down from over 15% in 2008, according to Refinitiv Datastream.

November rattled that trend, as the release of positive data from three separate coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna Inc and AstraZeneca Plc sparked massive rallies in the shares of companies across the sector.

Shares of oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp rose 17% and 25%, respectively, while Occidental Petroleum Corp soared over 72% and Devon Energy Corp surged nearly 57%.

“The notion of a vaccine being sometime around the corner gives some hope that oil demand may recover,” said Stewart Glickman, energy equity analyst at CFRA Research, adding that energy shares will stay sensitive to news about vaccines or coronavirus cases in the near-term.

(Graphic: US energy shares vs broad stock market )