What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after crude oil prices pulled back from the previous day's rally. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 2.2% to settle near $71.88 per barrel, while the international benchmark Brent crude slipped below $77 per barrel.
The pullback occurred despite the U.S. military confirming secondary strikes on Iran and President Trump declaring the recent ceasefire "over." Instead of pricing in further escalation, investors took profits as satellite vessel tracking data indicated that tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was quietly continuing despite the geopolitical rhetoric.
The session confirmed that the energy sector's valuation was being dictated almost entirely by the geopolitical risk premium in the Middle East, rather than underlying supply and demand fundamentals.
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:
- Mixed or Offshore Upstream E&P company APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) fell 4.3%. Is now the time to buy APA Corporation? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Mixed or Offshore Upstream E&P company Tidewater (NYSE: TDW) fell 4%. Is now the time to buy Tidewater? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Infrastructure company Tenaris (NYSE: TEN) fell 3.5%. Is now the time to buy Tenaris? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On APA Corporation (APA)
APA Corporation’s shares are quite volatile and have had 16 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 15 days ago when the stock dropped 3% on the news that 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.
APA Corporation is up 32.3% since the beginning of the year, but at $33.56 per share, it is still trading 24.4% below its 52-week high of $44.39 from March 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of APA Corporation’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,632.
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