Energy stocks are on the rise today, after the U.S. military captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife over the weekend. Both will appear in a New York federal court today to face drug-trafficking charges. President Donald Trump noted U.S. oil companies will be “very strongly involved” in Venezuela’s oil industry going forward. In response, shares of Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) are surging.
CVX was last seen up 5.3% at $164.16, trading at its highest level since April and pacing for its fifth-straight gain. The security has added 16.8% over the past nine months, and finished 2025 with a 5.2% gain.
XOM is up 2.4% to trade at $123.38, and earlier hit an all-time high of $125.91. The stock secured a 11.9% gain in 2025, and in the final days of the year broke past $120 in a bullish flag pattern.
Options traders are chiming in on both equities today, with CVX and XOM so far seeing 27 and six times the typical intraday average volume. Most active for the former is the weekly 1/9 167.50-strike call, while for the latter it's the January 16, 2026 125-strike call that leads the way.
