U.S. stocks movement | Total gains 2.3% in pre-market trading as reports indicate the company made huge profits by betting on Middle Eastern oil

Glonghui, March 30 | Shares of French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies (TTE.US) rose 2.37% in pre-market US trading, opening at $92 and poised to hit a record high. According to reports, the Financial Times cited “a person close to the French giant” as saying that in March, TotalEnergies traders bought up nearly all of the UAE and Oman crude oil scheduled to be shipped in May, snapping up roughly 70 cargoes—more than double the amount in February—on the spot market. At the same time, they bet on rising oil prices through financial derivatives, locking in huge profits. Several media outlets and Oxford University experts estimate that TotalEnergies profited over $1 billion from this single move, likely marking the largest single-player gain in oil market history.