Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq rally as techs revive, oil majors jump after US strike in Venezuela

Gasoline prices fell for a sixth straight week to their lowest level in nearly five years as seasonal factors and cheaper oil weighed on the market while traders monitored developments following the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

The national average on Monday stood at $2.81 per gallon, according to AAA data, about $0.25 lower than a year ago and the lowest level since March 2021. Only about nine states have averages above $3 per gallon, while California, burdened with taxes and higher fees, has seen its average decline to $4.25 per gallon.

The declines come amid growing questions over Venezuela’s vast energy reserves after the United States captured Maduro and his wife over the weekend. President Trump stated that the US would temporarily “run” the South American country until a proper transition took place and said American oil companies would spend billions on Venezuela’s oil sector.

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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose above $93,000 per token on Monday, signaling that near-term momentum may be shifting after a rough end to 2025.

“Bitcoin has entered a bullish trend,” crypto data firm 10X Research wrote in a note on Sunday.

The firm pointed to a return of more normal trading volumes and early signs of renewed institutional positioning to kick off the new year.

“This is precisely the type of environment where doing nothing feels safe … and turns out to be the real risk,” according to the note.

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Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted for the 10th consecutive month in December, indicating that the overall economy is growing, albeit at a slower pace.

The ISM Manufacturing PMI report came in at 47.9 for the month of December, lower than the 48.4 expected, per Bloomberg consensus data. Manufacturing PMI was also lower than in November, when it came in at 48.2.

The gauge for US economic activity is based on surveys of manufacturing purchasing managers. New orders declined for the fourth straight month but were 0.3% higher than in November. Production grew at a slower pace, reaching 51, while the prices index reading was unchanged from November at 58.5, indicating ongoing rising input costs for producers.

Employment came in at 44.9, “indicating that managing head counts is still the norm at their companies, as opposed to hiring,” the report said.

“For every comment on hiring, there were three on reducing head counts,” ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee Chair Susan Spence said in the report. “Companies continued to focus on accelerating staff reductions due to uncertain near- to mid-term demand. The main head-count management strategies remain layoffs and not filling open positions.”

New export orders also grew last month by 6 percentage points.

“Despite a slight improvement in the New Export Orders Index, trade frictions continue to weigh on demand,” Spence said. Many panelists still report softer international orders tied to tariffs and ongoing uncertainty around U.S. economic policy, with a ratio of 1.5 negative comments for every positive one.”

Shares in oilfield services jumped across the board in the first minutes of trading Monday morning as the market priced in opportunities for those companies to lead a rebuilding of Venezuela’s oil industry.

Baker Hughes (BKR) and Halliburton (HAL), the US’s largest oilfield services companies — responsible for providing equipment and crew to help oil companies drill for and extract oil — jumped by more than 5% and 8%, respectively. The French-originated Schlumberger (SCL.SG) picked up around 8.5%.

Smaller players such as Weatherford International (WFRD), NOV (NOV), and TechnipFMC (FTI) also notched gains during the first trading session since the US military’s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

While the “oil majors” like Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and ConocoPhillips (COP) often get much of the attention in the oil market — due in no small part to their stature as giants in the energy market — oilfield services companies are a crucial part of the business.

When a company like Exxon wants to drill or maintain an oil well, oilfield services companies will provide the equipment, the manpower, and specialized technology needed to make the drilling happen. Their expertise ranges from seismic surveying to discover hydrocarbons to operating the most complex oil rigs in the world, hundreds of miles offshore.

In Venezuela, where two decades of corruption and mismanagement have severely degraded the infrastructure of the country’s oil industry, oilfield services companies could be the first players to begin work in the country, focused on resetting rigs in “work-overs,” bringing in crew, and evaluating what infrastructure needs to be repaired or rebuilt.

Halliburton saw a massive share price rally in the years following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq as the company was awarded major government contracts to enter the war-torn country and begin repairing and operating oilfield equipment.

QXO Inc. (QXO) stock rose more than 4% during premarket trading on Monday after Apollo Global Management Inc. agreed to invest more than $1 billion into the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

(Disclosure: Yahoo Finance is owned by Apollo Global Management.)

Bloomberg News reports:

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US oil company, Chevron Corp’s (CVX) stock price rose 7% before the bell, alongside ConocoPhillips (COP), which also jumped 7%, and Exxon Mobil (XOM), which climbed 3% during premarket hours. The move in energy stocks follows President Trump’s arrest of Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro over the weekend.

Trump said the US plans to “run” Venezuela after capturing Maduro.

Bloomberg News reports:

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Palantir Technologies (PLTR) stock climbed more than 3% before the bell on Monday. Palantir, which is heavily involved in the defense sector and operates as a major defense software company, rose following the news of the US arrest of Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro, over the weekend.

Strategy (MSTR) stock rose 3% before the bell on Monday, following Bitcoin’s 1% rise. Strategy, which is one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin, disclosed on Friday that it will be raising its dividend rate per year on one of its perpetual preferred stocks.

Comcast (CMCSA) stock fell 5% during premarket hours today. The media company will be spinning off its legacy NBCUniversal cable networks and digital assets into a new, independent public company called Versant Media Group on January 5th 2026.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 1% in early premarket trading on Monday, jumping from around $91,000 to over $92,000, as political uncertainty continued due to the US move to arrest Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro over the weekend.

Bloomberg News reports:

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