Shares of energy companies rose as an oil rally continued, bolstered by rising military tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Oil rose 1.4% to $62.02 a barrel in New York. The U.S. military planned to evacuate some personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a precaution, as President Trump considers ordering military action in Iran. Oil futures slid in late trading, however, after President Trump said that killing in Iran was stopping.
One brokerage said there was unlikely to be a repeat of the Venezuelan ouster, or any other form of regime change.
"Escalation risk is present but likely to remain episodic," said strategists at brokerage Jefferies, in a note to clients. "Public red lines raise pressure for the U.S. to act, and avoiding the appearance of backing down makes limited, symbolic strikes the most likely option."
Natural gas futures plunged 8.7% to $3.12 per million British thermal units ahead of key storage data.
BP shares rose slightly even after the British oil major took a write-down of as much as $5 billion related to its investments in "green energy."
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-14-26 1730ET
