LIVE MARKETS-Retail traders kick-off the year with a bang, energy companies in vogue

Dow gains ~0.3%, S&P 500 slips; Nasdaq off ~0.7% Staples lead S&P 500 sector gainers; Tech sole loser Euro STOXX 600 index 0ff ~0.2% Dollar up; crude gains >1.5%; gold turns green; bitcoin dips US 10-Year Treasury yield rises to ~4.18% Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at RETAIL TRADERS KICK-OFF THE YEAR WITH A BANG, ENERGY COMPANIES IN VOGUE Retail investors were heavy buyers of energy stocks in the first few trading sessions of the New Year, with Venezuela-linked stocks especially recording sharp inflows following the U.S. arrest of President Nicolas Maduro. On January 5 alone, J.P.Morgan data showed that retail investors bought $22 million worth of Halliburton (HAL.N) and $62 million worth of Chevron (CVX.N) shares. “Retail investors favored some of the companies that can immediately profit from the potential return of Venezuelan heavy crude to the US or those needed to rebuild the country’s decaying oil infrastructure,” J.P.Morgan analysts said in a note. Chevron, which is the only major U.S. oil company currently operating in Venezuela’s oil fields, saw its shares jump 5.1% on Monday. Oil refiners including Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) , PBF Energy (PBF.N) and Valero Energy (VLO.N) also saw high retail inflows as their shares rose on optimism about potential access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves after President Donald Trump said the United States would take control of the South American nation. Mom-and-pop traders have kicked off the year in force, with retail inflows in U.S. equities recording the second-highest weekly buying levels in nearly eight months in the period from December 31 to January 7, according to J.P.Morgan data. 2025 was a stand-out year for retail traders, with analysts noting that individual investors became a major force behind the rally in U.S. stocks that is likely to extend into the new year. (Shashwat Chauhan) EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS: SURPRISE PARTY: JOBLESS CLAIMS, LAYOFFS, PRODUCTIVITY, TRADE BALANCE CLICK HERE MAIN US INDEXES RETREAT AS THE MARKET PLAYS DEFENSE CLICK HERE BENCHMARK TREASURY YIELD: PRESSURE IN THE PIPE CLICK HERE MIXED REPORTING SEASON AHEAD FOR EUROPEAN PHARMA CLICK HERE THE BCOM INDEX REBALANCE COULD SPELL BAD NEWS FOR GOLD CLICK HERE TAKING A BREATHER CLICK HERE EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: PULLBACK SET TO CONTINUE CLICK HERE TRUMP’S BIG TALK FALLS ON INVESTORS’ DEAF EARS CLICK HERE Initial jobless claims and Challenger Gray layoffs Continuing claims and labor market confidence Productivity and labor costs Trade balance and GDP Imports from China Mexico and Canada