By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- Shares in European oil companies jumped on Monday after OPEC+ nations unveiled a surprise output reduction over the weekend to offset worries over weakening demand.
Energy giants like Shell PLC (LON:SHEL), BP PLC (LON:BP), and France's TotalEnergies SE (EPA:TTEF) all gained more than 3% in early trading, while the STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas index - a tracker of stocks in the sector - climbed nearly 4%.
Oil prices, meanwhile, surged, with U.S. crude futures rising 5.43% to $79.78 a barrel and the Brent contract moving higher by 5.50% to $84.28 as of 03:22 ET.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+, unexpectedly announced on Sunday that it will slash production by over 1 million barrels per day through to the end of this year.
This move came ahead of a virtual meeting of the group’s monitoring committee later today, which had been widely expected to confirm the production levels agreed upon in November.