China's 'Big Three' Oil Majors Issue Trading Alerts Following Stock Surges
By Sherry Qin
China's oil majors simultaneously issued trading-volatility alerts, after their shares surged on the escalating Middle East conflict that is disrupting oil supply.
Shanghai-listed PetroChina, Cnooc Ltd. and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., better known as Sinopec, issued the alerts late Tuesday and reminded investors of trading risks.
PetroChina said its "share price increased by more than 20% in the three consecutive sessions from Feb. 27 to March 3," adding that oil prices could fluctuate as the oil market is affected by geopolitical conditions and supply-demand dynamics.
Sinopec and Cnooc cited similar reasons in their alerts.
The widening Middle East conflict has halted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for energy markets, sending front-month Brent more than 10% higher so far this week. Brent was up 1.4% at $82.54 a barrel in early Asian trading Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate crude was up 1.2%.
Analysts said that a prolonged conflict could propel oil prices to $100 a barrel and push up global inflation.
Shanghai-listed shares of the "Big Three" plunged on Wednesday morning following the warnings. PetroChina shed 3.65%, Sinopec was 6.8% lower and Cnooc declined 4.0%.
Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 03, 2026 21:18 ET (02:18 GMT)
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