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Crude oil pares losses as traders assess U.S. move that ousted Nicolás Maduro. (00:22) TSMC (TSM) stock surges most since April as Goldman lifts target by 35%. (02:06) Samsung (SSNLF) plans to double Gemini-powered mobile devices in 2026 – report. (02:47)
This is an abridged transcript.
Crude oil is largely unchanged in early trading, while stock index futures are in the green.
This comes after the U.S. operation in Venezuela that removed President Nicolás Maduro from Caracas. The incursion prompted Washington to signal it would assume control over the country.
According to analysts at Goldman Sachs Group, the possibility that Venezuela could eventually restore some of its oil production following the removal of Maduro may add longer-term downward pressure on global crude prices.
In a note published Sunday, analysts said any rebound in Venezuelan output would likely be limited and slow, citing years of underinvestment and deteriorating infrastructure. Significant gains, they added, would require strong incentives to attract large-scale upstream capital.
Goldman left its 2026 oil price outlook unchanged, forecasting average prices of $56 a barrel for Brent crude and $52 for West Texas Intermediate.
Analysts warned that the prospect of higher Venezuelan supply in the longer term adds to downside risks for prices beyond 2027, particularly when combined with recent production growth in Russia and the United States.
Meanwhile, among the biggest gainers in premarket trading are Halliburton (HAL) and SLB (SLB), which are both up 8% as of the time of this recording. Shares of Chevron (CVX), which has operated in Venezuela under an American exemption, are also ahead by 7%, while ConocoPhillips (COP) and Valero (VLO) advanced 6%.
Other gainers include Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), and Exxon Mobil (XOM).
Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) are up 3 percent in premarket action after finishing 5% higher on Friday.
TSM jumped as much as 6.9% to touch a new record high in Taipei. That came after Goldman Sachs Group raised its TSMC price target 35% to NT$2,330, citing expectations of another year of solid growth, Bloomberg News reported.
“We view AI as a multi-year growth engine for TSMC,” Goldman analysts including Bruce Lu wrote in a report. Lu notes the company’s profit margins are improving, even as he projects it will spend $150 billion over the next three years to increase capacity.
Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) is planning to double the number of its mobile devices powered by Google’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) Gemini this year.
The South Korean company rolled out Gemini AI features to around 400M devices, including smartphones and tablets, by last year. It plans to double that figure to 800M in 2026.
The co-CEO told Reuters in an interview, “We will apply AI to all products, all functions, and all services as quickly as possible,” Roh said. “Even though AI technology might seem a bit doubtful right now, within six months to a year, these technologies will become more widespread.”
As for the global shortage of memory chips, Roh said no company is immune to its impact, adding that mobile phones and consumer electronics like TVs would be affected by the shortage.
Roh did not rule out price hikes, but noted that Samsung (SSNLF) is working with partners on longer term strategies to minimize the impact of higher memory chip prices.
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Catalyst watch:
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Versant (VSNT) will begin trading after spinning off from Comcast (CMCSA).
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Trio-Tech International (TRT) will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis following the company’s 2-for-1 stock split.
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Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang will deliver a special presentation at CES at 4pm local time on AI and accelerated computing.
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AMD (AMD) CEO Lisa Su will give a CES keynote speech at 6:30 pm local time.
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Cybin (CYBN) will change its name to Helus Pharma and begin to trade on the Nasdaq.
Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Bitcoin is up 1.6% at $92,000. Gold is up 2.3% at $4,432.
The FTSE 100 is up 0.1% and the DAX is up 1%.
The biggest movers for the day premarket: HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE) +5% – Crypto-related stocks gained traction Monday morning as Bitcoin (BTC-USD) reached a three-week peak during early Asian hours, buoyed by lingering geopolitical turbulence following the U.S. weekend push to remove Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro.
On today’s economic calendar:
Editor’s Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
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