Oil Stocks Rise in Asia on Reports of Israeli Counterstrikes on Iran

By Kimberley Kao

Oil stocks in Asia rose Friday after reports of an Israeli missile strike on Iran sent oil prices higher, helping energy companies buck broad selloffs that hit markets across the region amid concerns of escalating tensions in the Middle East.

PetroChina was 2.5% higher in afternoon trading in China while its Hong Kong-listed shares were up by 1.5%. Sinopec gained 1.1%, Cnooc added 1.0% and China Oilfield Services was up 1.8% in Hong Kong trading, while S-Oil added 1.9% in South Korea and MISC rose 3.1% in Malaysia.

Benchmark indexes in much of the region suffered losses in early trading, coming after ABC News reported an unnamed U.S. official as saying that Israel had launched a strike against Iran in retaliation for Tehran's drone and missile attack last weekend. The Wall Street Journal and others later confirmed the reports.

"News of Israel's attack on Iran caused a massive risk-off move across markets," said Khoon Goh, research analyst at ANZ, with "investors paring back risk ahead of the weekend given the potential for further escalation."

"Any broadening of the conflict to a regional one could potentially put some oil supplies at risk," IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said. He said oil prices would likely stay higher while markets watch for signs of an all-out conflict that could disrupt supply.

Front-month WTI and Brent crude-oil futures both surged more than 4% in morning trading before easing later in the session. WTI was last 1.4% higher at $83.89 a barrel, while Brent was last up 1.3% at $88.22 a barrel.

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2024 03:15 ET (07:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.