Karoon, Woodside shares fall as signs of Lebanon ceasefire weigh on oil prices
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More news: ASX energy stocks slumped at market open after oil prices tumbled overnight.
Karoon Energy (-3.6%), Woodside Energy (-1.7%), Beach Energy (-1.4%), Ampol (-0.9%) and Santos (-0.8%) were all trading lower by 10:50am AEDT.
Energy was the worst performing sector, shedding 1.73% while the wider market rose 0.48%.
Oil prices slide as Hezbollah endorses Lebanon ceasefire
The news: Crude prices settled more than 4% lower over night on expectations of a possible ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.
The numbers: Brent crude futures settled down USD3.75 ($5.56), or 4.63%, at USD77.18 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate futures finished down USD3.57, or 4.63%, at USD73.57 a barrel. At their session lows, both were down more than USD4 a barrel, Reuters reported.
On Monday, Brent rose above USD80 per barrel for the first time since August after more than a 3% daily gain. That followed the largest weekly gain in over a year, roughly 8%, in the week to Friday on rising concerns of a spreading war in the Middle East.
The context: On Tuesday, Hezbollah's top official said the militant group supports efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Lebanon, marking the first time it has publicly endorsed a truce.
Hezbollah's deputy chief Naim Qassem said the group supported attempts by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to secure a halt to fighting, which has escalated in recent weeks following Israeli ground incursions in Lebanon and the killing of top Hezbollah leaders.
What they said: "We support the political activity being led by Berri under the title of a ceasefire," Qassem said in a televised address on Tuesday.
