Opening Bell, March 2

Good morning, readers.?Oil prices have soared, and both WTI and Brent crude have now topped $110 per barrel. Commodities broadly have surged on the back of Russia's attack on Ukraine.?

Plus, check out our new audio product from the Insider newsroom:?The Refresh from Insider! ?Keep up with the latest market moves with our audio news briefing that constantly updates throughout the day.?Give it a listen here.

Let's get into it.

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1. Oil has notched a seven-year high.?Brent and WTI crude surged as much as 10% yesterday as Russia stepped up its attack on Ukraine. Prices of both have traded above the $110-per-barrel mark today and this is in spite of an upcoming increase in available supply.

In an effort to rein in prices, the International Energy Agency — a 30-country coalition including the US, Japan, and Germany — agreed to a coordinated, global?release of 60 million barrels from its oil stockpiles .?

Half of that will come from?the US, and half will come from Europe and Asia in what will be the IEA's first release since the Libyan civil war in 2011.?

"(The) fragile situation in Ukraine and financial and energy sanctions against Russia will?keep the energy crisis stoked ?and oil well above $100 per barrel in the near-term and even higher if the conflict escalates further," Louise Dickson, an analyst at Rystad Energy, said in a note.

Oil stocks, meanwhile,?have benefited, with the US energy sector up 28% in 2022, making it the best-performing sector on the?market .??

Here's how oil looks this morning:?

• Brent ?crude futures are up 5.3% at $110.51 per barrel.
• WTI ?crude futures rose 5% to $108.70 per barrel.?

In other news:

2. US futures have bounced back after yesterday's drop.?But with oil having topped $110 a barrel and bond yields in retreat, the mood is cautious.?See what's happening on the markets today.

3. Morgan Stanley shared its picks for stocks well-positioned to beat the market.?These companies, according to the bank, are insulated from the macro risks and rising rate environment weighing on investors.?See the list of 31 stocks here.?

4. Goldman Sachs named stocks that are backed by over $5 trillion in mutual fund and hedge fund money.?The firm said that combining the preferences of the two types of firms can generate an edge for investors —?see the list of nine stocks.?

5. French and Italian banks appear to be most exposed to Russia, followed by US banks.?Separately, the Institute of International Finance noted that almost half of Russia's foreign reserves are held in nations that have frozen Russian assets.?It's chief economist said a Russia default is "extremely likely."

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This newsletter was curated by Phil Rosen.

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