A 44% boost in the energy sector has pumped up operating earnings in the Standard & Poor’s 500 to a record $199.4 billion, up 13.4% from a year earlier, making it the 17^th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. The percentage could have been even higher were it not for the information technology sector, in which nearly two-thirds of issues were negative. The strong second-quarter results, coupled with projected full-year growth projections, says Sam Stovall, Standard & Poor’s’ chief investment strategist, are likely to help the S&P500 finish the year up 5%.The surprising energy sector performance, says S&P, is thanks to near-record oil prices and the closing of BP’s Alaska oil field for repair. It had originally projected a 5.7% rise in the third quarter and a decline in the fourth, but is now predicting a 16.8% boost in the current quarter and an increase at the end of the year.