Shares of energy companies rose as oil majors continued to strike deals in Venezuela.

ExxonMobil drew close to signing a preliminary deal to explore investments in several Venezuelan oil fields, negotiating a potential return to the country nearly two decades after its exit.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to model an "endgame" in the Iran war and hence the outlook for oil prices, said Natasha Kaneva, head of commodities strategy at JPMorgan, as reported earlier.