NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 09:49 ET — Market closed
- Nicolas Maduro is in U.S. custody in New York and is due to appear in a Manhattan court on Monday.
- Aerospace-and-defense ETFs and major contractors rose sharply in Friday’s last session, setting up a fresh test when markets reopen.
U.S. defense stocks will be in focus when Wall Street reopens on Monday after President Donald Trump said the United States carried out strikes in Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro in a surprise raid.
The weekend operation landed as investors start the year with geopolitics back at the center of the tape, a backdrop that can shift money quickly between sectors. Defense contractors, which rely heavily on U.S. government spending, are often treated as a hedge when conflict headlines rise.
The raid, dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve, involved more than 150 aircraft, including F-35 and F-22 jets and B-1 bombers, and followed a major U.S. military build-up in the Caribbean, Reuters reported.
In the last trading session before the Venezuela news, the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) was last up about 3.3%, while the SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (XAR) gained about 3.8%. Lockheed Martin (LMT) rose about 2.8%, RTX (RTX) added about 2.1%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) climbed about 2.7%, General Dynamics (GD) gained about 2.0%, and L3Harris Technologies (LHX) was up about 3.7%. The broad-market SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) edged up about 0.2%.
Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, trade like stocks but hold a basket of companies, making them a quick way for traders to express a sector view. The Venezuela headlines hit with U.S. stock markets closed, leaving investors to gauge reaction when cash trading resumes.
One economist warned the market may face more headline risk. “The events are a reminder that geopolitical tensions continue to dominate the headlines and drive the markets,” said Marchel Alexandrovich at Saltmarsh Economics. Reuters
Oil remains a swing factor for the broader market because Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven reserves and Trump has talked about U.S. oil companies returning. OPEC+ kept its output policy steady on Sunday and said the group’s next meeting will be Feb. 1, Reuters reported.
Legal and political fallout is another variable for defense names, especially if Congress pushes back on the scope and duration of U.S. involvement. Legal experts questioned the operation’s footing under international law, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Congress was not notified before the operation, Reuters reported.
But any knee-jerk bid for defense stocks can fade if investors decide the Venezuela move is a one-off rather than the start of a longer campaign, or if a wider risk-off selloff hits equities across the board. Global leaders have split sharply on the operation, and calls for de-escalation could raise the odds of a fast political resolution.
Beyond geopolitics, earnings season is the next hard catalyst for the group. Northrop said it will report fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Jan. 27, while L3Harris said it will report before the market opens on Jan. 29.
Investors will be listening for updates on backlog, margins and supply chains, and whether companies flag higher demand for air defense and strike systems. Macro data could matter just as much: the monthly U.S. jobs report is due Jan. 9 and U.S. consumer-price data are due Jan. 13, Reuters reported.
For Monday’s open, traders will be watching for further White House and Pentagon briefings, early moves in oil and the defense ETFs, and any sign the Venezuela operation broadens beyond the initial strikes. Maduro’s court appearance in Manhattan is also on the calendar.
