Al Root
Defense stocks are moving early Monday following the surprise capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro over the weekend.
Shares of defense prime contractors Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris Technologies, and General Dynamics were all up a little less than 1% in premarket trading. Coming into Monday, those four were up an average of 26% over the past 12 months, boosted by rising defense spending in the U.S. and Europe.
S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.3% and flat, respectively.
Shares of Boeing and RTX, which also have large commercial aerospace businesses, were up about 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, in premarket trading. Shares of smaller capitalization defense companies AeroVironment and Karman were up 2.9% and 1.6%, respectively.
Shares of European defense contractors Rheinmetall, BAE Systems, Thales, and Leonardo were up 7.5%, 4.8%, 5%, and 6%, respectively, in overseas trading. Gains have left those four stocks up more than 100% on average over the past 12 months.
It's "too soon to say how Venezuela could shape defense sentiment," wrote Capital Alpha Partners analyst Byron Callan on Sunday. He wasn't surprised by the military action, but he couldn't be sure how events will unfold from here. "The big wild card is the stability of Venezuela after the U.S. attack and seizure of Maduro."
The biggest impact may be felt in the energy market. Venezuela, 10 years ago, produced about 2.4 million barrels of oil per day. That's dwindled to less than 1 million per day.
Chevron stock might be the one most impacted by the move. Investors have bid up shares 6.6%, to $166.12, in premarket trading. Still, the oil major's exposure to Venezuela is "real, and historically unique, but it remains a small, tightly constrained, and politically mediated part of a massive global portfolio," wrote Barron's energy reporter Laura Sanicola on Saturday.
Whatever happens in the coming weeks and months, energy and defense investors should brace for some additional stock volatility.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 05, 2026 08:37 ET (13:37 GMT)
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