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The oil market has a habit of looking settled right before it stops being settled. That is the setup now.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped sharply as the conflict around Iran has intensified, and more vessels are going dark by switching off AIS, or Automatic Identification System, signals that usually show where ships are moving. Hormuz is not just another shipping lane. It is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, so when visibility starts to disappear, supply risk moves back to the centre of the conversation.
Why this matters now
This matters for a couple of reasons.
The headline move is one thing. The market implication is another. Oil is not only about how many barrels exist, rather, it is also about whether those barrels can move, who is willing to insure them, how long buyers are prepared to wait and how much extra risk traders feel they need to price in.
Right now, three things are colliding at once: disrupted shipping, fragile diplomacy and a market that is already leaning heavily in one direction. That combination can make Brent move faster than the fundamentals alone would normally suggest.
What is driving the move
1 Supply visibility is deteriorating
The first driver is simple. The market can see less, and that tends to make it more nervous.
Transit through Hormuz has fallen sharply, while a growing share of traffic has involved ships that are no longer broadcasting standard tracking signals. In plain English, fewer vessels are moving normally through a critical corridor, and more of the activity is becoming harder to track. That does not automatically mean supply is about to collapse. But it does mean uncertainty is rising.
2 Iran’s storage buffer may be limited
The second driver is Iran’s export and storage constraint.
Onshore storage capacity is estimated at about 40 million barrels, and the market is watching what some describe as a 16-day red line. That is the point at which a prolonged export disruption could begin forcing production cuts to avoid damage to reservoirs. For newer readers, the takeaway is straightforward. If oil cannot leave storage for long enough, the problem may stop being about delayed exports and start becoming a genuine supply issue.
3 Positioning could amplify the move
The third driver is positioning, which is just market shorthand for how traders are already set up before the next move happens.
In this case, speculative crude positioning looks heavily one-sided. That matters because when a market is leaning too far in one direction, it does not take much to trigger a sharp adjustment. A fresh geopolitical shock could force traders to move quickly, and once that starts, price can run harder than the underlying news alone might justify.
Why the market cares
An oil shock rarely stays contained inside the energy market.
Higher crude prices can start showing up in freight, manufacturing and household energy bills. That means inflation expectations can start creeping higher again. Central banks are already trying to manage a difficult balance between sticky inflation and softer growth, so higher oil can make that job harder.
And this is not just a story about oil producers getting a lift. Airlines, transport companies and other fuel-sensitive businesses can come under pressure quickly when energy costs rise. Broader equity markets may also have to rethink the policy outlook if higher oil keeps inflation firmer than expected.
The ripple effects go well beyond oil
There is also a currency angle, and it is less straightforward than it first appears.
Commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian dollar often get support when raw material prices rise. But that relationship is not automatic. If oil is climbing because global demand is improving, that can help. If it is climbing because geopolitical risk is spiking, markets can shift into risk-off mode instead, and that can weigh on the Australian dollar even as commodity prices rise.
That is what makes this kind of move more interesting than it looks at first glance. The same oil rally can support one part of the market while putting pressure on another.
Assets and names in the frame
Brent crude remains the clearest read on broad supply risk. If traders want the cleanest expression of the headline story, this is usually where they look first.
- ExxonMobil is one of the more obvious names in the frame. Higher oil prices can support realised selling prices and near-term earnings momentum, although it is never as simple as oil up, stock up. Costs, production mix and broader sentiment still matter.
- NextEra Energy adds another layer. This story is not only about fossil fuels. When energy security becomes a bigger concern, the case for domestic power resilience, grid investment and alternative generation can strengthen as well.
- AUD/USD is another market worth watching. Australia is closely tied to commodity cycles, so stronger raw material prices can sometimes support the currency. But if markets are reacting more to fear than growth, that usual tailwind may not hold.
For newer readers, the key point is that oil moves do not spread through markets in a neat, predictable line. They ripple outward unevenly, helping some assets, pressuring others and sometimes doing both at the same time.
What could go wrong
A strong narrative is not the same as a one-way trade.
A ceasefire could stabilise shipping flows faster than expected. OPEC+ could offset some of the tightness by lifting production. Demand data from China could disappoint, shifting the focus back to weak consumption rather than constrained supply. And if the geopolitical premium fades, oil could pull back more quickly than the current mood suggests.
For newer readers, the takeaway is simple. Oil rallies can be real without being permanent. A move may be justified in the short term by disruption risk, then reverse quickly if those risks ease or if demand softens.
The market is no longer pricing oil in isolation. It is pricing visibility, transport security and the risk that supply disruption spills into inflation, currencies and broader risk sentiment.
That is why Hormuz matters, even for readers who never trade a barrel of crude themselves.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA, HKEX: 9988) announced the latest financial results on Thursday. The Chinese e-commerce giant reported revenue of $29.124 billion (up by 3% year-over-year), falling slightly short of $29.288 billion expected. Earnings per share topped analyst estimates for the quarter at $1.816 per share (an increase of 15% year-over-year) vs. $1.683 earnings per share estimate. ''We delivered solid results this past quarter despite ongoing macro environment challenges, which is a testament to our resilient business model and unmatched customer value proposition,'' Daniel Zhang, Chairman and CEO of the company said in a press release. ''The uncertainties of the global landscape have only reinforced our resolve to focus on building capacity that will yield sustainable, high-quality growth for our customers and our own business over the long term.
The trust of our shareholders has enabled Alibaba’s development over the past 23 years, and we are committed to improving shareholder return as we continue to strengthen the foundations for Alibaba’s future,'' Zhang added. Alibaba also announced an increase to its share buyback program: ''We have continued to take a holistic approach to improve operating efficiency and cost optimization throughout the company that resulted in adjusted EBITA growth of 29% year-over-year. With strong net cash position and cash flow generation, as of November 16, 2022, we had repurchased approximately US$18 billion of our shares under our existing US$25 billion share repurchase program.
In addition, our board has approved to upsize the share repurchase program by another US$15 billion and extend the program to the end of fiscal year 2025.'' Shares of Alibaba rose on Thursday – up by around 8% at $84.52 a share. Stock performance 1 month: +18.47% 3 month: -5.97% Year-to-date: -28.18% 1 year: -40.58% Alibaba price targets Truist Securities: $125 Barclays: $114 Morgan Stanley: $110 B of A Securities: $155 Bernstein: $130 Benchmark: $205 JP Morgan: $140 HSBC: $141 Citigroup: $172 Alibaba is the 37 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $227.68 billion. You can trade Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA, HKEX: 9988) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD.
Sources: Alibaba Group Holding Limited, TradingView, MarketWatch, MetaTrader 5, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) reported its latest financial results after the market close in the US on Wednesday. The US technology giant beat revenue estimates but fell short of earnings per share (EPS) expectations for the quarter. The company reported revenue of $5.931 billion (down by 17% year-over-year) vs. $5.781 billion estimate.
EPS reported at $0.58 per share (down by 50% year-over-year) vs. $0.70 per share. ''We are quickly adapting to the macro environment, correcting inventory levels, and paving the way for new products,'' founder and CEO of NVIDIA, Jensen Huang said after posting the latest results. ''NVIDIA’s pioneering work in accelerated computing is more vital than ever. Limited by physics, general purpose computing has slowed to a crawl, just as AI demands more computing. Accelerated computing lets companies achieve orders-of-magnitude increases in productivity while saving money and the environment,'' Huang added.
NVIDIA expects revenue of around $6 billion in Q4. The stock was down by 4.54% on Wednesday at $159.09. The share price rose by around 2% in after-hours following the results.
Stock performance 1 month: +33.32% 3 month: -12.37% Year-to-date: -45.37% 1 year: -45.09% NVIDIA price targets Credit Suisse: $210 Oppenheimer: $225 Barclays: $140 Deutsche Bank: $140 Citigroup: $210 BMO Capital: $210 Mizuho: $205 Stifel: $165 Needham: $170 NVIDIA is the 14 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $400.98 billion. You can trade NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: NVIDIA Corporation, TradingView, MarketWatch, MetaTrader 5, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap
The EUR has been on a ‘recovery rally’ since it fell below parity level with USD earlier this year. With inflationary pressures potentially easing across the world the USD has finally taken a breath. The currency which has been haven for many market participants in dealing with the high volatility finally saw a dip after weaker than expected US CPI figures last week.
Since this time the USD Index or DXY has fallen by nearly 4.5% which is a significant drop. This has had an overall positive impact on currencies that were struggling such as the AUD, JPY and of course the EUR. Whilst the EUR has provided a positive move in recent weeks and days there is still some geopolitical concerns especially with the news of a missile killing two citizens in Poland earlier this week.
Technical Analysis The weekly chart shows that price is currently testing a long terms resistance level at 1.0352. This level acted as support for almost 7 years prior to being broken and therefore has become a significant level. In addition, the price is also fighting against the 50-week moving average which is at 1.0588.
The 50 week moving averages is also a short-term long target for long trades. Looking more closely at the daily chart, the price is showing an important signal that it has not done since May 2020. The price is testing the 200-day moving average.
If it can break through it may represent a bullish signal. The last time the price broke through this level it managed to go from 1.10 to 1.23. This time around, the currency pair is having to fight inflationary pressures which may create a headwind.
The price action is still showing a potential price target of 1.06 in the near term and if it can break through the 200-day moving average and a longer-term target of 1.15.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) announced its latest financial results before the market open in the US on Tuesday. World’s largest supermarket chain reported total revenue of $152.8 billion for the quarter (up by 8.7% year-over-year) vs. $147.668 billion expected. Earnings per share reported at $1.50 per share (up by 3.4% year-over-year) vs. $1.321 per share estimate. ''We had a good quarter with strong top-line growth globally led by Walmart and Sam’s Club U.S., along with Flipkart and Walmex.
Walmart U.S. continued to gain market share in grocery, helped by unit growth in our food business. We significantly improved our inventory position in Q3, and we’ll continue to make progress as we end the year. From The Big Billion Days in India, through our Deals for Days events in the U.S. and a Thanksgiving meal that will cost the same as last year, we’re here to help make this an affordable and special time for families around the world.
We have an amazing group of associates that make all this happen, and I want to say thank you,'' President and CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillon said in a press release. Walmart raised its full-year outlook after its strong Q3 results and announced a $20 billion share buyback program. Shares of Walmart were up by 6.54% on Tuesday at $147.14 a share.
Stock performance 1 month: +10.69% 3 month: +54% Year-to-date: +62% 1 year: +71% Walmart price targets Jefferies: $165 Keybanc: $155 Morgan Stanley: $150 DA Davidson: $163 Cowen & Co.: $165 Stifel: $149 Oppenheimer: $155 Credit Suisse: $145 Deutsche Bank: $162 Citigroup: $162 Walmart is the 14 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $402.87 billion. You can trade Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: Walmart Inc., TradingView, MetaTrader 5, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap
NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) announced Q3 financial results before the market open in the US on Thursday. The Chinese automaker fell short of analyst estimates for the quarter. The company reported revenue of $1.827 billion (up by 26.3% from the same period last year) vs. $1.836 billion estimate.
Loss per share reported at -$0.297 per share vs. analyst estimate of -$0.147 loss per share. ''NIO delivered 31,607 vehicles in the third quarter of 2022, representing a solid growth of 29.3% year-over-year and achieving a record-breaking quarterly delivery. Following the delivery of our new product lineup based on NIO Technology 2.0 catering to different market segments, we have witnessed strong growth momentum in user demand and robust foot traffic, especially after the debut of ET5s in stores from September, and expect the ET5 delivery will support a substantial acceleration of our overall revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2022. To meet the growing user demand and shorten the waiting time, we have been working closely with supply chain partners to accelerate production and delivery,'' William Bin Li, founder, chairman and CEO of NIO said in a press release after the latest numbers were announced.
NIO expects revenues of between $2.442 billion and $2.703 billion in Q4, which would be an increase of between 75.4% to 94.2% from the same period last year. Shares of NIO were up by over 10% on Thursday, despite missing Q3 estimates as the company looks to accelerate production and delivery to meet growing demand in Q4. Stock performance 1 month: -18.74% 3 month: -50.12% Year-to-date: -67.22% 1 year: -75.39% NIO price targets Morgan Stanley: $31 HSBC: $28 Goldman Sachs: $56 Barclays: $34 Mizuho: $42 Citigroup: $31.3 B of A Securities: $26 UBS: $32 Barclays: $19 Deutsche Bank: $20 NIO is the 23 rd largest automaker in the world with a market cap of $17.71 billion.
You can trade NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: NIO Inc., TradingView, MetaTrader 5, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) reported the latest financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended October 1, 2022, after the closing bell in the US on Tuesday. The biggest entertainment company in the world missed both revenue and earnings per share estimates (EPS) for the quarter. The company reported revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter (up by 9% year-over-year) vs. the $21.268 billion estimate.
EPS reported at $0.30 per share (down by 19% year-over-year) vs. the $0.558 per share expected. Revenue reached $82.722 billion for the fiscal year that ended October 1, 2022 – up 23% from the previous year. EPS reported at $3.53% per share, up by 54% from 2021. ''2022 was a strong year for Disney, with some of our best storytelling yet, record results at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment, and outstanding subscriber growth at our direct-to-consumer services, which added nearly 57 million subscriptions this year for a total of more than 235 million,'' Bob Chapek, CEO of Disney said in a press release. ''Our fourth quarter saw strong subscription growth with the addition of 14.6 million total subscriptions, including 12.1 million Disney+ subscribers.
The rapid growth of Disney+ in just three years since launch is a direct result of our strategic decision to invest heavily in creating incredible content and rolling out the service internationally, and we expect our DTC operating losses to narrow going forward and that Disney+ will still achieve profitability in fiscal 2024, assuming we do not see a meaningful shift in the economic climate. By realigning our costs and realizing the benefits of price increases and our Disney+ ad-supported tier coming December 8, we believe we will be on the path to achieve a profitable streaming business that will drive continued growth and generate shareholder value long into the future. And as we embark on Disney’s second century in 2023, I am filled with optimism that this iconic company’s best days still lie ahead,'' Chapek added.
Shares of Disney were little changed at the end of the day on Tuesday, down by 0.53% at $99.94 a share. The stock fell by around 9% in the after-hours trading after missing Wall Street estimates for the previous quarter. Stock performance 1 month: +7.30% 3 months: -7.61% Year-to-date: -35.50% 1 year: -42.95% Walt Disney price targets Keybanc: $143 UBS: $135 Rosenblatt: $134 JP Morgan: $145 B of A Securities: $127 Arete Research: $263 Credit Suisse: $157 Wells Fargo: $145 Goldman Sachs: $140 Walt Disney is the 50 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $182.12 billion.
You can trade The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: The Walt Disney Company, TradingView, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap