Skyline of Tokyo city, Japan.
Tomohiro Osumi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets started the first full week of 2026 on a positive note after the US announced it had attacked Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. Oil prices fell slightly as markets weighed the potential impact of geopolitical tensions.
U.S. authorities said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were flown to New York after the operation and charged with drug-terrorism conspiracy and other crimes. The indictment said drug trafficking “enriched and entrenched Venezuela’s political and military elite.”
Oil prices have fallen due to the escalation of the situation involving the oil-rich country. brent crude oil The price fell more than 1% before evening out losses, and was down 0.25% in the latest session. west texas intermediate Crude oil prices fell by 0.4%.
Venezuela, a founding member of OPEC, has the world’s largest proven oil reserves at 303 billion barrels (about 17% of the world’s total), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Spot gold prices rose more than 1% to $4,383.99.
Japanese benchmark Nikkei Stock Average In the first trading session of the year, the index rose 2.82%, and the TOPIX index rose 1.42%, hitting a record high. Defense stocks were among the index’s top gainers. Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries add 5.7% and 6.4% respectively.
South Korea’s Kospi index rose 2.41% to a record high of 4,420.92, and the small-cap Kosdaq also rose 0.2%. Shares of defense giant Hanwha Aerospace rose as much as 4%, and Pungsan traded 3% higher.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 rose 0.11%.
hong kong Hang Seng Index The mainland’s CSI 300 index rose 0.68% but remained flat.
US stock futures were firm in early Asian trading.
The S&P 500 index closed slightly higher on Friday, the first trading day of 2026, with gains in semiconductor stocks keeping the index up.
The benchmark rose 0.19% to end at 6,858.47, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.03% to end at 23,235.63. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were up 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively, at record highs, both of which had been solidly positive earlier in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 319.10 points, or 0.66%, to settle at 48,382.39.
—CNBC’s Liz Napolitano, Fred Imbert and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
