U.S. begins asserting control over Venezuela's oil resources…New York stocks finish mixed [Morning Briefing]

◆ U.S. begins asserting control over Venezuela's oil resources…seeking economic benefit and checking China simultaneously

The Trump administration has begun to assert control over Venezuela's energy resources by revealing plans to take possession of Venezuelan crude oil, which has been prevented from being exported by U.S. sanctions, sell it on behalf of Venezuela, and decide how the proceeds will be used. According to the Trump administration's explanation compiled on the 7th, the United States agreed with the Venezuelan authorities to receive and sell some 30–50 million barrels of crude oil held by Venezuela on the market and to control the use of the proceeds. White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said at a briefing that "Venezuela's interim government authorities have agreed to hand over the oil to the United States, and it will arrive very soon," and that the U.S. government has already begun the process of selling the oil on the international market. Regarding the proceeds from the oil sales, spokeswoman Levitt said they "will be distributed for the benefit of Americans and Venezuelans at the discretion of the U.S. government." The Trump administration appears to be trying to directly control oil sales to pressure the Venezuelan government to adopt desired policies and to create a business environment favorable to U.S. oil companies.

◆ New York stocks sold off broadly except tech…finished mixed

The three major U.S. stock indices finished mixed. Tech stocks held up, but selling emerged across the board in the afternoon, and the market took a breather. On the 7th (U.S. Eastern Time) at the close on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 48,996.08, down 466.00 points (0.94%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index closed at 6,920.93, down 23.89 points (0.34%), while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 23,584.27, up 37.10 points (0.16%). The S&P 500 and the Dow also set new intraday record highs that day. The financials and energy sectors, which had led the early-year rally, were both weak. Bank stocks fell, including JPMorgan Chase (-2.3%), Bank of America (-2.8%), and Wells Fargo (-2.2%), and energy names such as ExxonMobil (-2.1%), Chevron (-0.8%), and ConocoPhillips (-3.3%) underperformed. By contrast, refiners Valero Energy (3.1%) and Marathon Petroleum (1.2%) rose more than 3% and 1% respectively on news that sales of Venezuelan crude may continue and sanctions could be eased.

◆ Samsung Electronics to release Q4 results today…whether operating profit tops 20 trillion won is key

Samsung Electronics will announce its preliminary fourth-quarter results on the 8th. With AI infrastructure investment continuing and a super cycle for memory chips beginning, a record-breaking performance is likely, and attention is on whether it can, for the first time ever, enter the era of quarterly operating profit of 20 trillion won. Yonhap Infomax compiled the earnings consensus from 17 brokerages that published reports within the last month and found that Samsung's fourth-quarter operating profit is forecast at 19.6457 trillion won, up 202.6% year-on-year. The fourth-quarter revenue consensus is also expected at 92.5445 trillion won, up 22.1% year-on-year. Samsung is expected to record its highest quarterly operating profit in about seven years. The quarterly revenue record of 86.0617 trillion won set in the third quarter of last year is also expected to be surpassed after just one quarter. The Device Solutions (DS) division, which handles the semiconductor business, is believed to have played a leading role. Division-level results are not being released that day, but analysts estimate the DS division's fourth-quarter operating profit at about 16–17 trillion won.

◆ Police to summon former district councilor who wrote petition alleging Kim Byung-ki received nomination money

A former Dongjak District councilor who wrote a petition claiming to have given nomination money to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byung-ki will appear before the police. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Unit will summon former Dongjak councilor A as a suspect on the 8th. A submitted a petition at the end of 2023 alleging that he had given 10 million won to a side of Representative Kim ahead of the 2020 general election and later got it back; the petition named then-Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Su-jin. Police plan to question A about the circumstances under which money was handed to Representative Kim's side. Former Dongjak councilor B, who confessed in a petition that he gave 20 million won to Representative Kim's wife around the same time and later got it back, is scheduled to be questioned by police on the 9th.

◆ U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio: "I will discuss Greenland with Denmark next week…military option is valid for all issues"

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on the 7th (local time) that he plans to discuss Greenland, the Danish autonomous territory that President Donald Trump has had his eye on, with Denmark. Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill that when asked why the U.S. has not engaged in talks as Denmark requested regarding Greenland, "I'll be meeting with them next week." Asked whether the United States is trying to buy Greenland, Rubio said, "That was always President Trump's intention from the beginning," explaining that President Trump said the same in his first term and that it is not a new position. He reiterated that the Trump administration is seeking to secure Greenland for national security reasons and is not ruling out military means to do so. Rubio said, "We always prefer to resolve things in other (nonmilitary) ways," adding that the U.S. tried other methods in Venezuela but used military means after those failed.

◆ Prince Group chairman Chen Z arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China in large-scale online scam

AFP reported that Chen Z, chairman of the Prince Group, which has been identified as behind a large-scale online scam criminal complex in Cambodia, was arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China. The Cambodian Ministry of Interior said in a statement on the 7th (local time) that Cambodian authorities arrested three Chinese nationals, including Chen Z, Xu Jiliang, and Xiao Jihu, and extradited them to China. The ministry said the arrests were part of an operation on the 6th conducted in cooperation to crack down on transnational crime. It added that Chen Z's Cambodian citizenship was revoked by royal decree in December last year. Chen Z is reported to have built vast wealth by expanding his business in close ties with Cambodia's high-level political circles and operating large-scale scam criminal complexes. In October last year, the U.S. and U.K. governments sanctioned the Prince Group and Chen Z, saying they ran criminal complexes that extorted money from victims worldwide and tortured trafficked workers. The Korean government also imposed independent sanctions in November last year on 15 individuals, including the Prince Group and Chen Z, and on 132 entities.

◆ Nationwide morning commute around -10°C 'severe cold'

Thursday the 8th will be cold, with morning temperatures around -10°C across inland areas nationwide. Morning temperatures in most regions will be more than 5°C lower than the previous day, and the Seoul metropolitan area, Gangwon, North Chungcheong, and North Gyeongsang regions will be more than 10°C lower. Daytime temperatures will also be below 0°C in many inland central areas. The forecast high is -3 to 5°C. The country will generally be clear, but the western coast of Jeolla and Jeju Island will be occasionally cloudy. Jeju Island may see rain or snow into the afternoon, and western Jeolla may see drizzle under 0.1㎜ or trace snowfall under 0.1㎝ until the morning. Expected precipitation is under 5㎜ for Ulleungdo, Dokdo, and Jeju Island. Expected snowfall is 1–5㎝ for Ulleungdo and Dokdo, 1–3㎝ for Jeju's mountainous areas, and around 1㎝ for Jeju's midlands. The air will be very dry in Seoul and some inland parts of Gyeonggi, the east coast and mountains of Gangwon, eastern Jeonnam, and the Gyeongsang region; other areas will also be dry, so be especially careful about fire. Fine dust concentrations will be at 'Good' levels nationwide due to favorable atmospheric dispersion.

Cha Eun-ji, Hankyung.com reporter chachacha@hankyung.com