HK Stock Market Move | Oil stocks fall in early trading, Trump says the US must reach an agreement with Iran, and international oil prices plummeted on Thursday.

Oil stocks fell in the early session, as of press time, Sinopec (00386) fell 4.06% to HKD 5.43; PetroChina (00857) fell 3.28% to HKD 9.15; China Oilfield Services (02883) fell 3.06% to HKD 9.49; CNOOC (00883) fell 2.79% to HKD 24.42. On the news front, on Thursday, WTI crude oil futures closed down 2.77% at $62.84 per barrel. Brent crude oil futures closed down 2.71% at $67.52 per barrel. U.S. President Trump stated on February 12th local time that the U.S. "must" reach an agreement with Iran, otherwise the situation will be "very serious". Trump said he hopes the U.S. and Iran can reach an agreement in "about a month". In addition, the latest EIA data shows that U.S. crude oil inventories surged by 8.53 million barrels in the week ending February 6th, marking the largest single-week increase since January last year. Zhao Ruochen, a senior researcher at Galaxy Futures, said that the turning point in the market's trading logic from "geopolitical priority" back to "supply and demand priority" lies in the substantive results of the US-Iran negotiations. If a short-term framework is reached, oil prices may see a significant pullback of geopolitical risk premiums, and trade may once again focus on the oversupply fundamentals. Continued significant inventory growth, OPEC+ exceeding expectations in production increases, and weakening demand will all suppress upward pressure on oil prices.