Oil falls, stocks mixed after Trump reveals plan for Venezuelan oil

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to refine and sell Venezuelan crude oil raised concerns about the long-term impact of the U.S. actions, while major stock indexes were mixed, with investors assessing economic data ahead of a key U.S. jobs report later this week.

Investors said it was difficult to translate the implications of Trump's capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. The potential for his move on Caracas to unsettle China, as he also ratchets up rhetoric about acquiring Greenland, meant global trade tensions could rise, making market turbulence more likely.

The United States said on Wednesday it had seized a Russian-flagged, Venezuela-linked tanker as part of Trump's push to dictate oil flows in the Americas and force Caracas' socialist government to become its ally.

On Wall Street, the Dow eased but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were higher. Stock indexes around the world have hit record highs this week even after the U.S. intervention in Venezuela.

For stocks, "the market like usual is writing off anything Trump related," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.