HK Stock Market Move | Oil stocks extend recent declines. Multiple bearish factors weigh on international oil prices. Oil stocks focus on forward crude oil supply and demand expectations.

Oil stocks extend recent declines. As of press time, CHINA OILFIELD (02883) fell 3.18% to HK$7.61; SINOPEC CORP (00386) dropped 2.50% to HK$4.49; PETROCHINA (00857) declined 2.40% to HK$9.555; CNOOC (00883) slipped 1.89% to HK$23.9. On the news front, EIA data showed that U.S. crude inventories fell by 640,000 barrels last week, compared with a previous decline of 391,000 barrels and a median estimate of a 1.5 million-barrel draw. In addition, the Federal Reserve unanimously approved raising the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4.00%, the first rate hike since July 2023. Furthermore, Saudi Aramco is working to bypass the damaged section of its oil pipeline and plans to restore about half of its capacity within days. Multiple bearish factors weighed on international oil prices. On Thursday, the front-month WTI crude futures contract fell more than 1% intraday, while Brent crude lost the $105/barrel mark. It is worth noting that although crude oil prices have climbed above the $100 level, the oil sector has fallen for several consecutive trading sessions, with share prices becoming less sensitive to oil price gains, and earlier accumulated gains facing profit-taking pressure. Analysts pointed out that oil stocks are priced based on the discounting of future cash flows. At present, forward oil prices have not yet seen panic-driven gains, and the market is avoiding overpricing a tight forward crude oil supply-demand situation, which has led to recent pressure on oil stocks.