Wall St rallies amid energy boost after Venezuela strike; Dow hits record

Wall Street’s main indexes surged on Monday, with the blue-chip Dow hitting an all-time high due to soaring financial stocks, while energy firms rose after a U.S. military strike that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas

Maduro.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, a day after Maduro was captured, that a second strike was possible if remaining members of the administration do not cooperate with his efforts to get the country “fixed.”

Investors bet the move against Venezuela’s leadership would allow American firms access to the world’s largest oil reserves. A U.S. embargo on Venezuelan oil remained in full effect, Trump said.

S&P’s energy index gained 1.3%, with heavyweights Exxon Mobil and Chevron rising 1% and 4%, respectively.

Defence-related stocks also advanced after Washington’s military action. Lockheed Martin rose 2.5% and General Dynamics climbed 2.8%. The broader aerospace and defence index gained 1.2% to hit an all-time high.

Read more: Wall Street Week Ahead: Jobs data could jolt stocks from holiday calm as 2026 kicks off

At 10:15 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 600.51 points, or 1.24%, to 48,982.9, the S&P 500 gained 45.32 points, or 0.66%, to 6,903.79 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 203.37 points, or 0.88%, to 23,439.00.

Goldman Sachs jumped 4.75% to a record high, while JPMorgan Chase and American Express rose 3% and 2.6%, respectively. The stocks helped propel the Dow to a record high.

Wall Street’s main indexes rounded off the previous week with losses as investors largely sold off tech stocks. But the sector was largely stable on Monday, up 0.2%, with Nvidia adding 0.6%.

Tesla was a standout, rising 4.2% after seven straight sessions of losses, supporting the consumer discretionary sector’s 2.1% climb.

“With the markets taking geopolitics in stride so far, the first trading week of the New Year may likely revolve around whether tech will find its footing after stumbling into the end of the year,” Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, E*TRADE at Morgan Stanley, said in a note.

Last week’s losses were contrary to expectations of a “Santa Claus rally” - a seasonal phenomenon in which markets tend to get a late boost over the last five trading days of December and the first two of January, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.

The three main indexes posted double-digit gains in 2025 for the third consecutive year, a run last seen during 2019-2021. The Dow posted its eighth monthly gain on the trot in December, the longest such streak since 2017-2018.

A key highlight this week will be the monthly nonfarm payrolls on Friday, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy in 2026. Markets are pricing in about 60 basis points of interest rate easing this year, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Fresh data showed U.S. manufacturing contracted more than expected in December, extending a 10-month slump as the sector continued to feel the effects of President Trump’s import tariffs.