US stock futures saw gains Monday morning as investors assessed geopolitical developments following a US military operation in Venezuela that led to the removal and arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) inched up 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) rose 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) climbed about 0.5%.
The futures action follows a mixed end to last week’s session. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed higher Friday, while the Nasdaq (^IXIC) finished roughly flat.
But the US military action in Venezuela early into the weekend took focus as investors headed into the first full week of the new year.
President Trump said Saturday that the US would “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a more measured tone, saying the US has “a tremendous amount of leverage” to achieve its objectives while stopping short of saying Washington would directly govern the country.
Market strategists largely downplayed the long-term economic fallout. Venezuela currently produces less than 1 million barrels of oil per day, under 1% of global output, limiting the potential impact on energy markets. However, supply concerns in the immediate future indicate a likely rise for oil prices in the coming days. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude oil, the US benchmark, and international benchmark Brent (BZ=F) crude both nudged lower late Sunday.
Meanwhile this week, investors will welcome the return of a back-to-normal flow of economic data. Wall Street will turn its attention to the December jobs report due Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect payroll growth of about 55,000 for the month.
And after a strong start to the year for semiconductor manufacturers, eyes will be on Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). Investors will also be watching the CES tech show in Las Vegas, which runs from Tuesday through Friday this week.
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