Oil surges on Iran strikes while stocks sink — ride the energy rally
Thesis
The combination of direct military strikes on Iran and the revocation of Iran's oil export waiver has immediately tightened global energy supply expectations, sending oil up over 5% to a two-week high. Meanwhile, broad stock indexes are falling as investors flee risk. When oil surges on supply fears while the broader market sells off, traditional energy producers often rally independently as their profit margins expand on higher commodity prices. Connecting the breakout in oil prices to the broader risk-off sentiment in equities, going long major oil producers offers a way to profit from the geopolitical chaos rather than suffer from it.
Strategy approach
Build a rule-based strategy that enters long XOM and CVX on D1 when front-month crude oil futures (CL=F) gap up or rally >3% on the day, with a 21-day max hold and a 7% trailing stop.