US Stock Futures Climb; Oil Jumps After Venezuela: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — US stock futures rose, pointing to the first increase in four days for the S&P 500 as investor appetite returned after last week’s tech retreat. President Donald Trump’s oil blockade on Venezuela sent oil more than 2% higher.

Contracts on the S&P 500 climbed 0.2%. Netflix Inc. gained 1.7% in premarket trading on bets it will prevail in its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., while Amazon.com Inc. added 1.3%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index was up 0.3%, led by energy companies. Yields on US Treasuries rose and the dollar strengthened.

Investors are increasingly looking for opportunities beyond the US tech giants that have underpinned the S&P 500’s 16% rally so far this year. A growing chorus of Wall Street analysts are making bullish predictions for 2026 after three straight interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and as nations from the US to Germany boost spending.

“I would expect more volatility because investors are differentiating more and they are not just playing one sector,” said Guy Miller, chief strategist at Zurich Insurance. “But the combination of trend-like growth, slightly lower interest rates, fiscal impulse coming through and importantly, a significant capital spending cycle kicking in, will work its way through the economy.”

In the wake of the latest US jobs numbers, the dollar appreciated 0.2% and Treasuries fell, pushing the 10-year yield two basis points higher to 4.17%. Attention now turns to Thursday’s inflation print.

“Yesterday’s November US jobs data is more of a confirmation of the prior expected rate path rather than a new catalyst,” said Andrea Gabellone, head of global equities at KBC Global Services.

Oil Blockade

Trump’s ban on sanctioned oil tankers going into and leaving Venezuela marked a major escalation and follows the seizure of an oil tanker last week by US forces off the country’s coast. Brent crude was trading 1.8% higher at $60 a barrel, advancing from the lowest level since 2021.

The US is also preparing for a fresh round of sanctions on Russia’s energy sector should President Vladimir Putin reject a peace agreement with Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially adding to the uptick in geopolitical tensions.

The Venezuela move also helped send gold above $4,330 an ounce, pushing it close to the record $4,381 set in October. Other precious metals were also gaining, with silver climbing to a record above $66 an ounce and platinum hitting the highest since 2008.

What Bloomberg Strategists Say…

“Any geopolitics-led boost, such as the one we are seeing today, is likely to be brief… Next year is shaping up to be another downbeat one for oil prices, given the scale of supply surplus that’s forming in the market.”

—Nour Al Ali, Markets Live strategist. For full analysis, click here.

Elsewhere, UK stocks rallied the most since April as the slowest inflation print in eight months weakened the pound by 0.6%. That burnished the appeal of the FTSE 100, whose biggest members get their revenue streams from overseas.

In currencies, the Indian rupee jumped 1% after the central bank stepped in to support it. Bitcoin slid 1% to trade around $86,868 as the token headed for the fourth annual decline in its history.

Corporate Highlights:

OpenAI is in initial discussions to raise at least $10 billion from Amazon.com Inc. and use its chips, a potential win for the online retailer’s effort to broaden its AI industry presence and compete with Nvidia Corp. Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. is planning to reject Paramount Skydance Corp.’s hostile takeover bid due to concerns about financing and other terms, people familiar with the matter said. Tesla Inc.’s sales in California are poised to be suspended for 30 days if it doesn’t change its marketing practices that allegedly mislead consumers about its driver-assistance technology. Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous driving unit, is in discussions to raise more than $15 billion at a valuation near $100 billion, in a financing round led by its parent company. Luckin Coffee Inc. is considering making a bid for Nestle SA’s Blue Bottle Coffee to boost its brand profile and expand in the premium coffee segment. SBI Shinsei Bank Ltd. surged as much as 16% in its trading debut in Tokyo on Wednesday after raising ¥322 billion ($2.1 billion) in Japan’s second-biggest initial public offering of the year. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 8:18 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2% The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1727 The British pound fell 0.6% to $1.3347 The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 155.55 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 1% to $86,830.56 Ether fell 1.1% to $2,919.43 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.17% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.85% Britain’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 4.47% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8% to $56.28 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,327.28 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Jake Lloyd-Smith, Preeti Soni and Levin Stamm.

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