Asian stocks rose on Monday, with attention focused on AI-related sectors during the first full trading week of the year, while oil prices fell amid expectations that the U.S. military move in Venezuela is unlikely to disrupt a well-supplied energy market.
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The MSCI Asia-Pacific index (ex-Japan) gained 1.4% to a record high, while E-mini S&P 500 futures rose 0.2%, as investors largely ignored geopolitical developments ahead of a week packed with economic data.
Investors are assessing the impact of a dramatic weekend during which the U.S. arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. U.S. President Donald Trump said he placed the South American country under temporary American administration.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he might order another strike if Venezuela does not cooperate with U.S. efforts to open its oil sector and stop drug trafficking. He also threatened possible military action in Colombia and Mexico.
Neil Shearing, Chief Economist at Capital Economics, said: “The U.S. removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is unlikely to have immediate significant economic effects on the global economy, but its political and geopolitical repercussions will resonate.”
Brent crude futures fluctuated but ultimately fell 0.7% to $60.33 per barrel, as markets weighed the U.S. intervention in Venezuela alongside OPEC+’s decision on Sunday to maintain production levels.
David Chao, Chief Asia-Pacific Market Strategist at Invesco Singapore, said: “The immediate reaction in Asian markets was limited, as investors largely ignored weekend developments. In North Asia, attention remains on structural momentum from rising AI investment, outweighing geopolitical concerns.”
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped over 3.3%, approaching a two-month high after resuming trading post-New Year holidays. Japanese stocks continued gains after December manufacturing data showed stability, ending a five-month decline.
South Korea’s KOSPI and Taiwan’s Taiex rose more than 3% each, hitting new record highs. Goldman Sachs analysts noted that the AI investment boom, particularly from the U.S., strongly supported GDP growth in Taiwan and, to a lesser extent, South Korea.
In China, the Hang Seng Index was mostly flat, weighed by declines in Chinese oil companies, with Hong Kong energy stocks down 3%. Australian stocks remained steady, as gains in major mining firms offset energy sector losses.
Vasu Menon, Head of Investment Strategy at OCBC Singapore, said: “Following unexpected weekend developments in Venezuela, it remains unclear whether the Trump administration has appetite for further regime changes, in countries like Iran. Strategic calculations are unfolding in a midterm election year, and unpredictability remains. This may support oil prices while a more tense geopolitical environment could boost safe-haven assets like precious metals.”
In early European trading, regional futures rose 0.7%, with Germany’s DAX up 0.5% and the UK’s FTSE 0.6%.
The U.S. Dollar Index, measuring the greenback against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.2% to 98.746, marking its sixth consecutive daily gain. Against the yen, the dollar climbed 0.3% to a two-week high of 157.21 yen.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank would continue raising rates if economic and price developments meet expectations, following a 25 basis point hike to 0.75% last month.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 0.8 basis points to 4.179%. Gold climbed nearly 2% to $4,413.93 per ounce amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
Bitcoin rose 1.3% to $92,393.99, while Ether increased 0.3% to $3,153.41.
