Stock futures were mostly flat Wednesday after the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched fresh records. Futures tied to the 30-stock Dow added 48 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures fell less than 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.2%. Stocks climbed in Tuesday’s session as investors seemed to shrug off worries about the U.S. attack on Venezuela over the weekend. The blue-chip Dow jumped nearly 485 points, or 0.99%, to close above 49,000 for the first time. The S&P 500 also posted a record close after gaining about 0.6%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the day higher by roughly 0.7%. “The market’s reaction to the Venezuela news underscores the gap between headline risk and actual price action. While [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro’s arrest is a notable geopolitical event, it carries no immediate implications for oil supply — the factor markets truly care about,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones. “Meanwhile, the pro-cyclical rally that has unfolded since the start of the week reflects supportive fundamentals, including an expected broadening of earnings momentum both within and beyond mega-cap tech,” he added. Nine out of 11 S&P 500 sectors ended the session higher, with gains in health care and tech boosting the index. “Magnificent Seven” member Amazon and retail investor favorite Palantir each closed higher by more than 3%. Data storage plays Sandisk, Western Digital and Seagate were among the S&P 500′s top performers on Tuesday. Looking ahead, Wells Fargo Investment Institute’s head of global investment strategy Paul Christopher said that “social calm” will be key for the direction of the U.S. stock market. “If the current government does not cooperate with the U.S., or if the military or opposition lose patience awaiting elections, we could see a new round of the country’s long-simmering social chaos — a likely negative for U.S. equities,” Christopher said. “If the U.S. can help the Venezuelan people to take better opportunity from their oil resources, and promote open and honest elections, then there is potential for the U.S. to help Venezuela and develop stronger economic ties between the U.S. and Latin America — a potential positive for U.S. markets,” he said. U.S. Treasury yields moved lower on Wednesday as investors digested weaker-than-expected ADP jobs data and continued to monitor geopolitical uncertainty. The 10-year Treasury yield was down more than 5 basis points to 4.126%. The 2-year Treasury note was lower by more than 2 basis points at 3.451%. Meanwhile, the 30-year bond yield also declined more than 5 basis points to 4.809%. Asian defense stocks snapped a two-day winning streak amid mixed trading in the region, as investors continued to assess geopolitical risks after the U.S. attack on Venezuela and renewed rhetoric over Greenland. Australia’s benchmark ASX/S&P 200 rose 0.15% to end the trading day at 8,695.6 after domestic inflation data came in below forecasts. The Consumer Price Index rose 3.4% from a year earlier in November, missing Reuters’ expectations of 3.7%, and below October’s 3.8% inflation. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slid 1.06% to 51,961.98, while the Topix lost 0.77% to 3,511.34. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.57% to 4,551.06, while the small-cap Kosdaq edged 0.9% lower to 947.39. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 0.94%, while mainland CSI 300 lost 0.29% to 4,776.67. Oil prices were stable on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. had reached a deal ‍to import $2 billion worth of ‍Venezuelan crude, a ‍move that is expected to increase supplies to the world’s largest oil consumer. Brent crude futures rose 12 cents to $60.82 a barrel, while ‌U.S. ‌West Texas Intermediate crude fell 7 cents to $57.06 a barrel. Both benchmarks extended declines of more than $1 from the previous trading session, as market participants expected ample global supply this year. The deal could initially require cargoes that were ⁠bound for China to be rerouted. Venezuela could be seeking to unload millions of barrels of oil that are stranded in tankers and storage facilities to avoid additional escalation with the United States. Gold prices fell on Wednesday as a stronger dollar and investors reassessing the ‍recent developments in the ‍U.S.-Venezuela situation weighed on ‍the metal. Spot gold dropped 0.8% to $4,461.51 per ounce, after briefly touching a more than one-week high earlier in the session. Bullion had hit a ‌record ‌high of $4,549.71 on Dec. 26. U.S. gold futures ​for February delivery were down 0.5% at $4,471.30. “It’s been quite a frenetic and volatile start to kick off the New Year so some profit-taking and reassessment of the Venezuelan situation especially seems in ⁠order,” said Jamie Dutta, chief market analyst at Nemo.money.