The US stock market is expected to open Monday’s trading session, January 6, on a positive note as investors weighed up the potential repercussions of the US military operation in Venezuela over the weekend, which led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
In pre-market trade, all three key benchmarks were trading in the green. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 14 points, S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, and Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 0.7%.
US energy stocks surge in premarket on Venezuela developments
Among individual stocks, US oil companies were by far the biggest risers in the S&P 500 in premarket trading. Chevron, the last US oil major still operating in Venezuela, was up around 8% ahead of the open, even as crude prices were largely unmoved.
Meanwhile, oilfield services companies SLB and Halliburton were up more than 9%, while US refiner Valero Energy jumped 8%, and energy giant ConocoPhillips rose 7%. Exxon Mobil climbed around 4% before the opening bell.
Investors moved swiftly into US oil producers after President Donald Trump said the United States plans to “run” Venezuela following the ousting of Nicolás Maduro over the weekend.
The rally in US oil companies indicates that investors are assessing developments in Venezuela, which could potentially influence future production, policy direction, or strategic positioning for US energy firms.
In addition, technology stocks—particularly AI- and chip-related names—also advanced. Nvidia rose around 1%, while Micron Technology climbed 3.7%, as investor sentiment in these counters remained intact after last year’s strong rally.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said Washington would “run” Venezuela until a political transition takes place, hours after US forces bombed the South American country and “captured” its president, Nicolás Maduro.
He also told US oil companies will spend billions fixing Venezuela’s “broken” oil infrastructure, “taking a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground,” in a press conference Saturday.
Trump also warned that the United States could launch a second military strike on Venezuela if remaining members of the administration fail to cooperate with efforts to get the country “fixed,” Reuters reported.
Crude oil prices recover from intraday lows
In reaction to the US attacks on Venezuela, both Brent and WTI crude futures fell over 1% initially but recovered from intraday losses to trade higher by 0.40% and 0.30%, respectively.
Although Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, the impact on global oil prices was limited, as the country’s production has fallen below 1 million barrels per day—less than 1% of global supply.
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