Today, Jan. 5, 2026, energy giants and banks are steering Wall Street higher as traders frame Venezuela’s turmoil as an investment opening.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.64%) rose 0.65% to 6,902.74, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.69%) added 0.69% to 23,395.82, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +1.23%) climbed 1.23% to 48,977.17, with the Dow notching a record high on energy strength.
Market movers
Energy and bank shares led gains as oil majors including Chevron (CVX +5.10%), ConocoPhillips (COP +2.58%), and ExxonMobil (XOM +2.21%) rallied on hopes of expanded access to Venezuelan reserves, while mega-cap tech such as Amazon (AMZN +2.90%) advanced on renewed AI enthusiasm and upbeat analyst calls.
What this means for investors
The ousting of Venezuala’s Nicolás Maduro didn’t shake the markets today. Rather, it ignited a rally in energy stocks that could be involved in expanding that country’s oil industry.
Oil majors and financial stocks topped the leaderboard, driving the Dow Jones index to a record high. The widely-followed index crossed the 49,000 mark for the first time during intra-day trading.
Big tech stocks, including many artificial intelligence (AI) names, also performed well after Nvidia (NVDA 0.43%) and Apple (AAPL 1.43%) supplier Foxconn (HNHPF +1.98%) reported a 22% surge in Q4 revenues from continued strong AI infrastructure spending.
Investors are also watching the Las Vegas CES tech conference closely, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang set to give a special AI presentation speech there this evening. Any updates from Huang on new products or the status of sales to China will be closely monitored.
Howard Smith has positions in Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia and has the following options: short February 2026 $170 calls on Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, Chevron, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends ConocoPhillips. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.