Trading on Wall Street was mixed in light trading early Tuesday while gains for oil prices moderated following the U.S. military operation in Venezuela over the weekend the led to the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro.
Futures for the S&P 500 were flat, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%. Nasdaq futures rose 0.2%.
Following a bigger jump on Monday, oil prices at first retreated overnight before rebounding early Tuesday.
U.S. crude was up 25 cents at $58.57 per barrel, while Brent crude gained 30 cents to $62.06 per barrel.
It was a similar story for energy companies, which made smaller gains overnight after bigger jumps on Monday. Chevron and Exxon were both up less than 1% before markets opened on Tuesday.
The oil market is a key focus after the capture Maduro. Venezuela’s oil industry has been decimated by neglect and international sanctions and may require years of substantial investments to restore past production levels.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. plans to take control of Venezuela’s oil industry and ask American companies to revitalize it.
Technology companies, especially those developing artificial intelligence, are in the spotlight this week as the industry kicked off its annual CES trade show in Las Vegas.
AI advances helped propel the broader market to a series of records in 2025. Updates from influential technology companies could help shed more light on whether the big investments in AI are worth the potential financial risks.
Investors will also be focused on the U.S. labor market this week, as the government issues three separate reports on employment.
The Federal Reserve has been weighing weakening employment against risks for rising inflation as it decides whether to cut interest rates. They Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate three times late in 2025, but inflation has remained above its 2% target, which has made some central bank officials more cautious.
Wall Street still expects the Fed to hold rates steady at its upcoming meeting later in January.
Elsewhere, at midday in Europe, Germany's DAX edged 0.3% higher, while the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.4%. Britain's FTSE 100 picked up 0.7%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% to surpass the record it set in late October, closing at 52,518.08.
South Korea's Kospi also pushed further into record territory, gaining 1.5% to 4,525.98, buoyed by gains for automakers and some electronics manufacturers.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.4% to 26,710.45, and the Shanghai Composite index was up 1.5% at 4,083.67, its highest level in four years.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.5% to 8,682.80.
Taiwan's Taiex climbed 1.6%, while in India, the Sensex shed 0.5%.
Gold gained 0.6% after a 2.8% jump on Monday. The price of silver added another 2.2% after soaring 7.9% on Monday. Such assets are often considered safe havens in times of geopolitical turmoil. The metals have notched record prices over the last year amid lingering economic concerns brought on by conflicts and trade wars.
