Closing Bell: Maduro Capture Fuels Oil Sector as Markets Rise; CES 2026 Nears While December Auto Sales Slump

Key Points

• Stocks ended the day higher, with the oil sector leading the way higher after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Maduro.
• CES 2026 begins this week, and analysts expect announcements in a variety of sectors, including robotics.
• December auto sales in the U.S. showed a decline, with General Motors (GM), Honda and more reporting lower sales. High prices and consumer angst are blamed for the fall.

Markets finished higher, led by the oil and gas sector after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Maduro over the weekend. President Trump said the U.S. would “run” the country for a time and predicted U.S. oil companies would rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector. The S&P (SPX) rose +0.7%, the Nasdaq-100 (NDX) rose +0.9%, the Dow Jones ($DJI) was up +1.3% and the Russell 2000 gained +1.7%.

In a light news day, trader attention turned to CES 2026, where companies like Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), Amazon (AMZN) and more are expected to reveal new tech products. Analysts are watching for advances in robotics and AI especially.

December U.S. auto sales previewed a challenging 2026, with giants like General Motors (GM) reporting a drop. The annualized rate dropped by 5% vs the third quarter, per Bloomberg. High prices are being blamed; new car sales to households with annual incomes of $75K or less have fallen 30% since 2019.

Key Market Events for Tomorrow

• 9:45 AM ET: PMI Composite Final

Notable Earnings for Tomorrow

• None

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