U.S. stock futures rose Monday to start a shortened holiday week, as traders deliberate whether tech can regain its footing before the year’s end. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 26 points, or 0.1%. Key stocks linked to artificial intelligence saw some gains in premarket trading. Nvidia shares rose nearly 2% in the premarket, while Micron Technology and Oracle climbed about 4% and almost 3%, respectively. Wall Street is coming off a mixed week for the major averages. A late-week surge in tech stocks helped lift the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to their third winning week in four, up 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively. The 30-stock Dow, which has outperformed this month, fell 0.7%, snapping a three-week winning streak. AI stocks enjoyed a resurgence last week after their recent underperformance. Shares of Oracle, a major laggard, jumped after TikTok agreed to sell its U.S. operations to a new joint venture that includes the software giant and private-equity firm Silver Lake. Nvidia also made a comeback. However, investors are watching to see whether AI stocks can retain their leadership heading into the year-end, especially as investors rotate into cheaper parts of the market amid concerns about lofty tech valuations. There’s also doubt about whether a “Santa Claus rally” will materialize, as the S&P 500 struggles to hold a key technical level. “My view a couple of weeks ago was an end of year grind,” said Justin Bergner, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds. “And I think that’s become an end of year churn.” The New York Stock Exchange will close early on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve and will be closed Thursday for Christmas Day. U.S. Treasury yields ticked up on Monday as investors prepared for the holiday-shortened week which includes a number of major note auctions. The 10-year Treasury yield — the benchmark for U.S. government borrowing — was up by more than 1 basis point, reaching 4.165%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note rose by less than a basis point to 3.492%. The 30-year bond yield, meanwhile, gained more than a basis point to 4.846%. Asia-Pacific markets climbed Monday as investors parsed China’s central bank’s decision to keep its loan prime rates steady. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.55%, while the mainland CSI 300 advanced 0.95% to close at 4,611.62. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.91% to end the trading day at 8,699.9. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.81% to 50,402.39 while the Topix was 0.64% higher at 3,405.17. The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 0.75% —a three-decade high— last Friday. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.12% to 4,105.93, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.52% to 929.14. Oil ⁠prices rose on Monday after officials said the U.S. had intercepted an oil tanker in international ‍waters off the ‍coast of Venezuela, ‍raising fears of supply disruption. Brent crude futures gained 52 cents, or 0.86%, to $60.99 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 50 ‌cents, ‌or 0.88%, to $57.02. “The market is waking up ​to the fact that the Trump administration is taking a hardline approach to Venezuelan oil trade,” said June Goh, senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities. Venezuelan crude accounts for about 1% ⁠of global supply. Gold and silver prices soared to new highs on Monday. Gold was last seen at a record $4,445.8 per ounce while spot gold was last trading at $4,414.99. Prices are up nearly 70% since the start of the year. The metal has soared this year, smashing consecutive price records as risk assets lost ground. Gold is typically viewed as a safe haven asset in times of economic or geopolitical turbulence. Silver typically tracks gold, and was last seen at a record $68.96 per ounce while spot silver was last trading at $68.98. Prices have gained 128% since the start of the year.