Dow Jones jumps 600 points to record high as Wall Street shrugs of Venezuela, economic concerns

Benchmark indices on Wall Street made a strong start to the first full trading week of 2026, extending last Friday's advance despite the US actions on Venezuela and shrugging off economic concerns of its own.

The Dow Jones gained nearly 600 points to end at a record high on Monday. At one point, the index was up over 700 points and also crossed the mark of 49,000 in intraday trading. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also closed with gains of 0.6% and 0.7% respectively.

Banking and energy stocks, primary constituents of the Dow, contributed to the gains on Monday. Shares of Goldman Sachs and US Bancorp led the banking pack, while Chevron, Exxon, Halliburton and SLB, all involved in oil and oil infrastructure, surged between 3% to 9% on hopes of monetising investments in Venezuela. As of date, Chevron is the only US oil company operating in Venezuela under sanctioned rules.

The market did not see any significant reaction to the US action in Venezuela and the subsequent arrest of its sitting President Nicolas Maduro, who was later presented in court and pleaded "not guilty" along with his wife.

Economic concerns also remained on the sidelines during Monday's rally. The ISM manufacturing index for December remained in contraction mode for the 10th straight month. The index stood at 47.9 from 48.2 in November. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. 15 out of the 17 industries surveyed saw negative growth in December. Most of the industries surveyed by ISM mentioned tariffs as the reason behind the decline in orders, and higher prices leading to lower margins.

Beyond the equity markets, Brent Crude is back above the $62 per barrel mark after the initial weakness seen on Monday, while Gold prices continue to hover near the $4,500 an ounce mark. After a 7% rebound on Monday, Silver prices are back at $77 an ounce, while Bitcoin prices hit a three-week high. The US Dollar index gave up initial gains but is holding above the mark of 98.