Global energy shares drop as oil plunges after US-Iran ceasefire

US and European energy stocks slid on Wednesday as oil prices tumbled after a two-week Middle East ceasefire raised hopes for a resumption of oil and gas supply through the Strait of Hormuz, reports Reuters.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday agreed to the ceasefire less than two hours before his deadline for Iran to reopen the strait or face devastating attacks on its civilian infrastructure.

The ceasefire follows a six-week conflict that drove oil prices sharply higher, forcing governments and companies to scramble for cover against a sudden energy shock.

Oil prices slumped below $100 per barrel on Wednesday, with Brent futures hitting their lowest in nearly a month at $91.70 after record monthly gains in March as the Middle East conflict disrupted global oil supplies.

"The return of free-flowing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, without any Iranian tolls or controls, feels essential if oil prices are going to start trending back toward levels we saw before the conflict began," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Shares of US energy majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron were down 6.3 per cent and 4.6 per cent, respectively, in premarket trading.

Oil and gas producers Occidental Petroleum, Devon Energy, Diamondback Energy and ConocoPhillips fell between 5 per cent to 8 per cent. Oilfield services companies Baker Hughes and SLB lost 2.6 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively.

Refiners Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66 shed 3 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.

LNG exporters Venture Global, which had benefited from its relatively larger exposure to spot prices, and Cheniere were down 11.1 per cent and about 7 per cent, respectively.

Soaring oil prices had helped US energy stocks log their strongest quarter on record in January-March. The S&P ?500 Energy Index gained about 37.2 per cent in the first quarter, making it the top-performing sector in the benchmark S&P 500, which fell roughly 4.6 per cent during the same period.

In Europe, Britain's BP and Shell, Italy's Eni, France's TotalEnergies Spain's Repsol were all down about 6 per cent to 9 per cent.

Norway's Equinor slumped 12.5 per cent, while domestic peers Var Energi and Aker BP, which had benefited from disruptions to Qatar gas flows, lost 11.3 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively.

Europe's oil & gas sector was the worst performer, shedding 4.3 per cent and on track for its biggest daily fall since April 2025. The index is still up almost 30 per cent so far in 2026.