Investors buy energy and gold as US strike on Venezuela lifts crude but not fear
Oil, gold and stocks all rallied after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — and markets still treated it as a risk‑on day, not a crisis.
According to CNBC, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.23 percent to a record 48,977.18, the S&P 500 gained 0.64 percent to 6,902.05 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.69 percent to 23,395.82.
BNN Bloomberg reported that the Russell 2000 climbed 1.6 percent, signalling broad risk appetite rather than flight.
Energy was the main winner.
CNBC reported that Chevron jumped 5.1 percent, Exxon Mobil rose 2.2 percent, Halliburton surged 7.8 percent and SLB gained nearly 9 percent, while the State Street Energy Select Sector ETF advanced almost 3 percent.
Reuters said the S&P 500 energy index hit its highest level since March 2025, as investors bet US firms will play a central role in rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry.
Oil prices moved higher alongside energy equities.
Brent crude rose about 1.7 percent to US$61.76 and US West Texas Intermediate climbed roughly 1.7 percent to US$58.32, with traders assessing potential disruptions and opportunities in a country that holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
Financials also gained.
According to CNBC, Goldman Sachs and US Bancorp rose 3.7 percent and 2.9 percent, while BNN Bloomberg said JPMorgan Chase added 2.6 percent and Bank of America gained 1.7 percent, reflecting confidence in the US growth outlook despite geopolitical tension.
US forces attacked Venezuela, captured Maduro and flew him and his wife, Cilia Flores, to New York, where they now face narco‑terrorism conspiracy and other charges.
The indictment alleges that drug trafficking “has enriched and entrenched Venezuela’s political and military elite.”
At a news conference, US President Donald Trump said the United States would “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” according to CNBC.
Reuters reported that Trump described Venezuela as under temporary American control, threatened further strikes if it did not open its oil industry and curb drug trafficking, and also threatened military action in Colombia and Mexico.
Reuters added that he plans to meet US oil executives this week to discuss boosting Venezuelan output.
Despite the scale of the move, policy analyst Matthew Aks of Evercore ISI called it “a significant geopolitical event though unlikely to be a major near‑term market‑mover,” according to CNBC.
He wrote that investors face “Trump’s likely purposeful ambiguity” on next steps and said his instinct is that Trump is not seeking full‑scale “boots‑on‑the‑ground” regime change, though the comments suggest this might not be a “one‑and‑done” action.
As per Reuters, Oliver Pursche of Wealthspire Advisors argued that it is “reasonable” for markets to “largely ignore the geopolitics around Venezuela, with the exception of a handful of oil companies, which are spiking,” noting that Venezuela’s GDP has “virtually no impact on global GDP.”
He said upcoming US economic data will matter more for the interest‑rate path.
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, told CNBC that in the short term the operation “maybe” boosts oil prices because of questions around supply and delivery.
Longer term, he said it “could end up being an improvement,” since Venezuela represents only about 1 percent of global oil supply and its deteriorated infrastructure “needs to be improved,” potentially with US help.
Defence names also caught a bid.
CNBC reported that General Dynamics gained 3.5 percent and Lockheed Martin rose 2.9 percent as investors read the latest strike as confirmation that fast, targeted military actions remain central to Trump’s approach.
Safe‑haven demand rose alongside equities.
Gold futures climbed 2.8 percent, their best day since October.
Reuters reported that spot gold hit its highest level since late December, while US gold futures for February delivery settled 2.8 percent higher at US$4,451.5 an ounce.
BNN Bloomberg said gold advanced 2.8 percent and silver jumped 7.9 percent, noting both metals have hit record levels over the past year amid conflict‑driven and trade‑related worries.
Crypto assets rallied as well.
CNBC reported that Bitcoin traded above US$94,000, while BNN Bloomberg said it reached about US$94,700, its highest level since mid‑November.
BNN Bloomberg added that Coinbase climbed 7.8 percent and Robinhood Markets gained 7 percent.
According to Reuters, the US dollar index slipped 0.24 percent to 98.32 after a near four‑week high, as traders focused more on the week’s data calendar than on Venezuela.
Reuters also said the 10‑year US Treasury yield fell to about 4.165 percent from 4.189 percent, while BNN Bloomberg reported the 10‑year at 4.15 percent and the two‑year at 3.45 percent.
For asset allocators, central bank policy and earnings remain the main drivers.
Stovall told CNBC that investors are “putting money back to work” after tax‑loss selling and year‑end portfolio shifts, and that they remain focused on “what the Fed is likely to do” and “what corporate profits will do,” characterising conditions as a “risk‑on environment.”
BNN Bloomberg reported that the Institute for Supply Management’s December manufacturing index showed continued contraction, while its services report due this week will be key because services make up most of the US economy.
Upcoming US job‑market data will weigh heavily on the US Federal Reserve, which is balancing a slowing labour market against inflation still above its 2 percent target.
The Fed cut its policy rate three times late in 2025, and markets still expect it to hold rates steady at its January meeting.
On the equity‑story side, Nvidia slipped 0.4 percent while Applied Materials rose 5.7 percent as CES opened in Las Vegas.
Investors are watching whether new developments in artificial intelligence can justify the heavy capital spending that helped drive 2025’s record run, BNN Bloomberg said, noting that AI‑linked names such as Nvidia now have outsized influence on major index moves.
Nationwide’s chief market strategist Mark Hackett, who wrote that the “broad, confident and consistent march upward” in equities and the “absence of emotion‑based selling” suggest markets are starting the year on “pretty solid footing.”
