Why ConocoPhillips (COP) Shares Are Moving

ConocoPhillips COP shares are trading lower by 1.35% to $98.23 Tuesday afternoon, earlier hitting a new 52-week low of $96.75. New economic data suggests China's slowing economic growth raises concerns about global energy demand.

The stock is also down as major indices slip, fueled by concerns that strong November retail sales could delay Fed interest rate cuts next year.

What To Know: Fresh data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed retail sales in November grew by only 3% year-on-year, falling short of the 5.3% expected by economists and declining from October's 4.8% growth.

Meanwhile, property investment—a key indicator of construction activity—dropped sharply by 10.4% for the year through November, reflecting sustained challenges in the real estate sector.

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China, the world's second-largest economy and a major consumer of oil and natural gas, plays a critical role in driving global energy markets. For ConocoPhillips, whose upstream operations rely heavily on crude oil and natural gas production, weak demand from China could lead to downward pressure on commodity prices.

Industrial production in China rose by 5.4% in November, just edging out October's 5.3%, but the modest growth suggests limited short-term momentum in industrial energy use. Additionally, struggles in the property sector, which consumes significant amounts of oil and gas, exacerbate demand concerns.

With China's policymakers emphasizing economic stabilization and measures to boost domestic demand, markets remain cautious about the pace of recovery.

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How To Buy COP Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for ConocoPhillips – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy ‘fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, or Amazon.com, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the the case of ConocoPhillips, which is trading at $98.17 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 1.02 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to ‘go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, COP has a 52-week high of $135.18 and a 52-week low of $96.75.