Several oil and gas stocks recorded gains in the Hong Kong market. At the time of writing, Petro-King (02178) surged 28.57% to HK$0.36. China Oil & Gas (00603) rose 17.41% to HK$0.236. MIE Holdings (01555) increased 7.5% to HK$0.043. Shandong Molong (00568) advanced 5.71% to HK$11.84. The uptick is attributed to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Reports indicate that senior U.S. officials recently informed Israel and other nations that the United States "may have no choice" but to launch a ground military operation against Iran's Kharg Island. Notably, on the evening of March 21 local time, former U.S. President Donald Trump issued a "48-hour" ultimatum to Iran on social media, demanding the Strait of Hormuz be restored to "full and unthreatened" passage within the deadline, or the U.S. would strike Iran's power generation facilities.