By Alex Kozul-Wright

Energy stocks were surging ahead of the bell Tuesday, with oil and gas prices soaring as fighting in the Middle East showed no signs of slowing.

Shares in oil exploration and production companies rallied again ahead of the bell -- ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum were both up by more than 3%. Exxon Mobil and Chevron were also higher. Brent crude futures were up 8%, to $83.89, in early trading Tuesday.

Meanwhile, liquefied natural gas company Cheniere rose 8% in premarket trading, while gas logistics company New Fortress Energy was up 5%. European natural-gas prices soared for a second day early Tuesday, the Dutch TTF continuous contract was up 37% at 59.83 euros after surging 39% on Monday.

It comes after Qatar suspended production at a key liquefied natural gas plant Tuesday following a drone strike, state-owned Qatar Energy said in a statement.

Israel struck targets in Tehran and Beirut early Tuesday, while Iran continued to strike at Israel and other targets in Gulf states, according to The Wall Street Journal. In premarket trading, nine of the 10 top performers in the S&P 500 were energy companies. In fact, only 29 were higher ahead of the open, according to FactSet data.

Write to Alex Kozul-Wright at alexander.kozul-wright@barrons.com

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March 03, 2026 07:32 ET (12:32 GMT)

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