Markets ignore geopolitical tensions as US forces remove Maduro; the Nikkei 225 hits a 7-week high while oil slips on the supply outlook.
Asian stocks ignore Venezuela risk as gold rallies, oil slides, dollar capped
Key takeaways
Risk assets resilient: Asian equities opened strongly despite heightened geopolitical risk from Venezuela, led by a sharp rally in Japan’s Nikkei, while US equity futures maintained short-term bullish momentum.
Divergent cross-asset moves: Gold surged on safe-haven demand but is now stalling near resistance, while WTI crude weakened as supply expectations improved following potential US control of Venezuelan oil output.
USD capped, FX mixed: The US dollar edged higher but remains below key resistance, with AUD/USD holding its minor uptrend.
Asian stock markets have opened on a strong footing on Monday, 5 January, for the first full trading week of 2026, ignoring the potential geopolitical tension arising from the direct inland attack on Venezuela by the US over the weekend that led to the capture and swift removal of Venezuela’s leader, Maduro, by US military forces.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped by 3% to hit a 7-week high, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index traded almost unchanged, while China’s A50 staged an intraday rally of 1.25 at the time of writing.
After the removal of Venezuela’s leader, Maduro, US President Trump has indicated that the US will “administer” Venezuela in the interim, without any definite timeline, and allow US oil and exploration companies to manage Venezuela’s oil fields, drawing parallels to a “Iraq 2.0” occupation.
Meanwhile, in today’s Asian session, gold (XAU/USD) rallied by 1.8%, the US Dollar Index inched higher by 0.28%, and WTI crude oil slipped by 0.6% over supply fears from the removal of Venezuela’s oil sanctions by the US.
Our YouTube video above contains the latest intraday technical analysis on the US Wall Street 30, US Nas 100, US SPX 500, Hong Kong 33, Japan 225, Germany 30, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/JPY, Gold (XAU/USD), and West Texas Oil.
