Oil falls, stocks mixed after Trump reveals plan for Venezuelan oil
Investors said it was difficult to translate the implications of Trump’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. The potential for his move on Caracas to unsettle China, as he also ratchets up rhetoric about acquiring Greenland, meant global trade tensions could rise, making market turbulence more likely.
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For stocks, “the market like usual is writing off anything Trump related,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“This week is all about the jobs report,” Dollarhide said, noting that weaker jobs data could underpin expectations for rate cuts this year from the Federal Reserve.
Data on Wednesday showed U.S. job openings fell more than expected in November while hiring eased. Friday brings the highly anticipated U.S. employment report for December.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) index dipped 0.05%.
Investors began the year almost certain that the world economy was in a so-called Goldilocks phase, where recession and inflation risks were both low.
OIL LOWER, COPPER FALLS FROM PEAK
Market reaction to Trump’s Venezuela moves has played out mostly in commodities so far.
U.S. crude fell 1.45% to $56.30 a barrel and Brent fell to $60.16 per barrel, down 0.89% on the day.
Copper fell sharply from a record high in the previous session, while nickel tumbled from a 19-month peak as an early-year rally in industrial metals lost momentum.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped as much as 3% to $12,842.50 per metric ton and was last trading down 2.7% at $12,884. It hit an all-time high of $13,387.50 on Tuesday.
Industrial metals prices had firmed this week as investors switched out of highly priced gold and silver and bought up tangible commodities, which often rally when geopolitical tensions threaten supply-chain disruptions and shortages.
Gold prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday as investors booked profits.
U.S. Treasury yields were lower on the day as traders evaluated economic data and awaited more news on the jobs front.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 3.7 basis points to 4.142%, from 4.179% late on Tuesday.
The dollar was nearly flat against major currencies, including the yen and euro.
The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of other currencies, rose 0.04% to 98.65.
Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York and Naomi Rovnick in London; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Kirsten Donovan and Jane Merriman
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