What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after crude oil dropped to its lowest level since the start of the Iran war, as tankers resumed transit through the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. and Iran signaled progress toward ending the conflict.
The S&P 500 energy index fell about 2.45%, the weakest major sector even as the broader market held roughly flat. Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) each fell in the ~2–2.5% range (exact figures vary by source). The more oil-price-sensitive explorers and producers were hit harder as Occidental (OXY), ConocoPhillips (COP), Devon (DVN) and APA Corp all fell roughly 2.5–3.5%. Oilfield-services names (Halliburton, SLB) and refiners (Valero, Phillips 66, Marathon Petroleum) slipped about 1.5–2.5%. WTI fell about 4% to near $70 and Brent about 4% to near $74,the lowest since February 27, the day before U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran, leaving crude down roughly 40% from its wartime peak.
The driver was physical and visible: tankers openly crossing Hormuz with transponders on, the IMO citing safety guarantees, and the IEA estimating the UAE exporting near 85% of pre-war levels. Separately, Trump ordered a DOJ probe into why pump prices "haven't fallen faster," accusing oil companies of gouging.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Oilfield Services company TechnipFMC (NYSE: FTI) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy TechnipFMC? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Oilfield Services company Valaris (NYSE: VAL) fell 3.7%. Is now the time to buy Valaris? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Valaris (VAL)
Valaris’s shares are very volatile and have had 25 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock dropped 6.4% on the news that the U.S. and Iran signed an interim agreement that would waive sanctions on Tehran's oil and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
WTI futures fell as much as 3.5% to an intraday low of $73.60, the lowest since March 2, the first trading day after the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran, while Brent crude dropped 2% to $77.96. The catalyst was a 14-point memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran, which begins a 60-day negotiation period. This stripped away the geopolitical risk premium that had been the energy sector's most powerful tailwind for months. Under its terms, Iran will allow toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz immediately, with full traffic capacity restored within 30 days. Roughly 20% of the world's seaborne oil and LNG transits the strait. Saudi tankers and LNG carriers were already departing the Gulf region as shipping activity began to normalize.
Oil reached as high as $120 per barrel at the peak of the conflict and fell nearly 29% in a month. That collapse reflects markets pricing in the return of Iranian barrels to global supply, barrels that had been sanctioned out of the market, alongside the reopening of the world's most critical energy shipping lane.
Valaris is up 44.1% since the beginning of the year, but at $75.17 per share, it is still trading 33.7% below its 52-week high of $113.42 from May 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Valaris’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,564.
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