Dow, S&P 500 Futures Muted After ADP Jobs Data

After yesterday's record closes, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are flat or inching higher this morning, while the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) is pointed lower. Investors have the ADP jobs report to unpack, which showed private payroll increased to 41,000 in December -- slightly below expectations, but still higher than November's 29,000 loss. In other news, CNBC earlier reported Venezuela will continue to sell oil to the U.S., with sanction reductions soon to come.

• Tough times may be ahead for the SPX, per Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
• Semiconductor stocks to watch amid CES updates.
• Plus, lithium stock upgraded; behind GameStop stock's rally; and good news for Strategy.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange saw over 2.1 million call contracts and more than 1.2 million put contracts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.58, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.58.
2. Albemarle Corp (NYSE:ALB) stock is up 1.8% premarket, after a Baird upgrade to "outperform" from "neutral" and a price-target hike to $210 from $113. The analyst in question cited strong lithium demand and higher prices. The equity has added more than 211% in the last nine months.
3. GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) stock is up 3.3% before the bell, as traders unpack CEO Ryan Cohen's new compensation package, which included goals to grow the company to $100 billion. The videogame retail stock carries a 37.1% year-over-year deficit.
4. The shares of Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) are 3.6% higher in electronic trading, after the MSCI abandoned plans to exclude digital asset treasury companies from its indexes. Longer term, MSTR carries a steep 58.2% year-over-year loss.
5. There will be plenty of economic data to kick off the new year this week. 

European Markets Mixed Amid Greenland Tensions

Asian markets were a mixed bag, as defense stocks pulled back from recent gains amid ongoing geopolitical tensions tied to Venezuela. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.1%, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.9, while China’s Shanghai Composite finished marginally higher.

European markets are also scattered today, though European defense stocks rose for the third day as global markets eye U.S. President Donald Trump’s interest in Greenland. London’s FTSE 100 was last seen down 0.7%, while the German DAX rises 0.7%, and the French CAC 40 sits flat. Meanwhile, flash euro zone inflation data for December came in at 2%, in line with analyst expectations