As per the latest reports by Reuters, US crude and Brent oil prices fell further, while Eurozone inflation eased to the 2% target. Copper prices retreated from record highs, and Wall Street stocks showed a mixed trend in late morning trading.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to refine and sell Venezuelan crude oil raised concerns about the long-term impact of the U.S. actions, while major stock indexes were mixed, with investors assessing economic data ahead of a key U.S. jobs report later this week.
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.
The United States said on Wednesday it had seized a Russian-flagged, Venezuela-linked tanker as part of Trump’s push to dictate oil flows in the Americas and force Caracas’ socialist government to become its ally.
On Wall Street, the Dow eased, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were higher. Stock indexes around the world have hit record highs this week, even after the U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
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 Dow Jones Industrial Average.DJI fell 158.46 points, or 0.32%, to 49,303.62, the S&P 500.SPX rose 6.02 points, or 0.09%, to 6,950.84, and the Nasdaq Composite.IXIC rose 102.25 points, or 0.43%, to 23,649.42.
The U.S. earnings season kicks off next week, with results from some of the largest U.S. banks. They are expected to report higher fourth-quarter profits, helped by a rise in investment banking revenue as dealmaking accelerates.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the world.MIWD00000PUS eased 0.95 points, or 0.09%, to 1,034.20. The pan-European STOXX 600.STOXX index dipped 0.05%.
The latest euro zone inflation report showed price increases had slowed to a year-on-year rate of 2% in December, in line with the European Central Bank’s target.
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.
China, which imported 389,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan oil in 2025, on Wednesday denounced Trump as a bully in response to his claim that he had convinced Caracas to divert crude supplies away from Beijing.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 1.45% to $56.30 a barrel, and Brent LCOc1 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 CMCU3 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 US10YT=RR 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 =USD, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of other currencies, rose 0.04% to 98.65.
(INPUTS FROM REUTERS)
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