Overview
- The Dow fell 466 points (0.9%) and the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% after notching intraday records, while the Nasdaq rose 0.2%, extending tech-led resilience.
- President Donald Trump said Venezuela will provide 30–50 million barrels of crude to the U.S., with authorities seizing Venezuela-linked tankers as West Texas Intermediate fell near $56 and Brent around $60.
- U.S. labor signals softened as job openings dropped to 7.146 million, the lowest since December 2020, and ADP reported a 41,000 gain in private payrolls, pulling Treasury yields lower and leaving rate-cut expectations largely intact.
- AI-linked heavyweights including Nvidia and Alphabet helped lift the Nasdaq as investors rotated back into tech, while recently surging memory and storage stocks gave back some gains.
- Traders are now watching the December employment report and an expected Supreme Court ruling on tariffs Friday for the next direction-setting catalysts.