US stock futures edged higher on Monday as investors assessed the US military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, as a revival in optimism for AI demand helped buoy stocks.
Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) moved up 0.2%. while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) added 0.5%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) ticked up 0.1%, following a mixed end to Friday’s session.
The US military action in Venezuela over the weekend took focus as markets headed into the first full trading week of the new year. But stocks leaned higher as strategists largely downplayed the long-term economic fallout and upbeat developments at Nvidia (NVDA) suppliers boosted appetite for the AI trade.
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.
Venezuela currently produces less than 1 million barrels of oil per day, under 1% of global output, limiting the potential impact on energy markets. Futures for US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude and international benchmark Brent (BZ=F) both slipped 0.4%. Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) and the dollar (DX-Y.NYB) climbed as traders weighed the additional geopolitical risks.
Against that background, TSMC (TSM) shares surged after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its price target for the contract chipmaker, citing expectations for another year of solid growth. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Foxconn — Nvidia’s biggest server maker and Apple’s top iPhone assembler — reported record fourth-quarter revenue on Monday, driven by strong demand for AI products. The strong start to the year for the AI trade sets the stage for the CES tech show in Las Vegas, which starts Tuesday.
At the same time, investors are getting ready to welcome the return of a back-to-normal flow of economic data this week, with the highlight the crucial jobs report due Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect payroll growth of about 55,000 in December.
