Core Viewpoint - Oil stocks have seen an increase in afternoon trading, driven by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, particularly regarding Iran and U.S. military preparations [1] Group 1: Company Performance - Sinopec (00386) rose by 2.9%, trading at HKD 5.67 [1] - CNOOC (00883) increased by 1.45%, trading at HKD 25.16 [1] - CNOOC Services (02883) gained 1.36%, trading at HKD 9.7 [1] - PetroChina (00857) saw a rise of 1.17%, trading at HKD 9.49 [1] Group 2: Market Dynamics - The U.S. Department of Defense has instructed a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare for deployment to the Middle East amid potential military actions against Iran [1] - President Trump has indicated consideration of sending a second carrier strike group to the region in case negotiations with Iran fail [1] - Ping An Securities noted that the uncertainty surrounding the situation in Iran, combined with the U.S.-India trade agreement and India's commitment to cease imports of Russian oil while increasing purchases of U.S. and Venezuelan crude, is accelerating the restructuring of global oil trade flows, providing strong short-term support for oil prices [1]

Group 1 - The ongoing regional tensions are disrupting the global oil supply chain, leading to a continuous rise in oil prices, with WTI crude oil up by 1.45% to $64.89 per barrel and Brent crude oil up by 1.15% to $69.60 per barrel [1] - OPEC maintains its global oil demand growth forecast for 2026 and 2027, expecting an average global demand of 42.6 million barrels per day in Q1 2026 and 42.2 million barrels per day in Q2 2026, unchanged from previous predictions [1] - OPEC+ crude oil production averaged 42.45 million barrels per day in January, a decrease of 439,000 barrels per day from December 2025, primarily due to a decline in Kazakhstan's production [1] Group 2 - The uncertainty surrounding the situation in Iran, combined with the recent trade agreement between the US and India, and India's commitment to halt imports of Russian oil while increasing purchases of US and Venezuelan oil, is accelerating the restructuring of global oil trade flows, providing strong short-term support for oil prices [1] - As of February 12, 2026, the National Petroleum and Natural Gas Index (399439) rose by 0.87%, with significant gains in component stocks such as China Merchants Energy (up 6.91%), COSCO Shipping Energy (up 5.34%), and China Merchants Oil (up 4.35%) [1] - The oil ETF Penghua (159697) increased by 0.88%, marking its fifth consecutive rise, with the latest price reported at 1.38 yuan [1] Group 3 - As of January 30, 2026, the top ten weighted stocks in the National Petroleum and Natural Gas Index (399439) include China National Petroleum, China National Offshore Oil, and Sinopec, collectively accounting for 66.76% of the index [2]