Softness in oil prices in the first half of 2013 is a prelude to strengthening values in the second half of the year, and oil equities offer plenty of scope for buyers to take advantage of unwarranted pessimism and attractive valuations, the Morgan Stanley energy team told investors recently.

Although weaker near-term fundamentals are likely to weigh on Brent prices, Morgan Stanley’s global head of commodity research, Hussein Allidina, cautioned investors not to become too bearish. In conversations about the commodity outlook, he said that investors tended to be “bearish ...