Oil plummets on two-week ceasefire announcement, dragging energy stocks lower
Oil prices are sharply lower Wednesday morning, extending their biggest single-day drop in six years after President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil supply flows.
As of 5:10 a.m. ET, international benchmark Brent crude was down 13.6% at around $94 per barrel, while US WTI crude fell ~16% to $95 per barrel — following its steepest one-day decline since the Russia-Saudi price war in March 2020 and extending the overnight selloff.
A slew of energy stocks are also giving back some of their war-driven gains, with oil-and-gas producers including Occidental Petroleum, Devon Energy, Diamondback Energy, ConocoPhillips, APA Corporation, Coterra Energy, and EOG Resources all down 6-9% in premarket trading.
Oil majors Exxon and Chevron both fell more than 5%, while fuel refiners including Marathon Petroleum, Valero, and Phillips 66 moved 4-6% lower.
Oilfield services names like Halliburton and natural gas producer EQT Corp fell 4-5%, while Chemical makers Dow, Inc. and LyondellBasell, along with fertilizer company CF Industries, are also trading lower. Natural gas exporter Cheniere Energy was also deeply in the red.
