Wall Street gains ground as crude prices and oil company stocks rise after the US raid on Venezuela

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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in afternoon trading on Wall Street Monday to kick off the first full week of the new year, led by a mix of big energy and technology companies.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and is just below its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 730 points, or 1.5%, as of 12:22 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.8%.

Markets in Asia and Europe were mostly higher.

Energy companies and the oil market were a key focus after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a weekend raid. The price of U.S. crude jumped 1.6% to $58.24 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1.5% to $61.66 per barrel.

President Donald Trump has floated a plan for U.S. oil companies to help rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry. Chevron surged 5.4%, Exxon Mobil rose 2.1% and ConocoPhillips rose 3% for some of the strongest gains in the market.

After years of neglect and international sanctions, Venezuela’s oil industry is in disrepair. It could take years and major investments before production can increase dramatically. But some analysts expect its current output of about 1.1 million barrels a day could double or triple fairly quickly.

Big banks also made solid gains. JPMorgan Chase rose 3.4% and Bank of America jumped 2.3%.

Wall Street is also watching the technology sector as the industry kicks off its annual CES trade show in Las Vegas. Nvidia fell 0.7% and Intel rose 0.5%.

Investors are particularly focused on advancements in artificial intelligence, or AI. The sector led the broader market to a series of records in 2025 on expectations that AI will continue to drive advancements and profits for a wide range of technology companies. The latest updates on AI from influential technology companies could help shed more light on whether the big investments are worth the potential financial risks.

Companies like Nvidia have been heavily investing in the technology, while investors on Wall Street have made those companies among the most valuable in the world. Their outsized valuations now drive much of the movement for major indexes, including the record run for major indexes in 2025.

The broader market is poised to gain even more ground as last year's momentum continues with growing corporate earnings and several other factors, according to Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide.

“The market’s broad, confident and consistent march upward, and the absence of emotion-based selling, tells you we’re starting the year on pretty solid footing,” Hackett wrote, in a note to investors.

Gold gained 2.5% and the price of silver soared 8.5%. Such assets are often considered safe havens in times of geopolitical turmoil. The metals have notched record prices over the last year amid lingering economic concerns brought on by conflicts and trade wars.

Treasury yields edged lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.15% from 4.19% late Friday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, fell to 3.45% from 3.48% late Friday.

Wall Street will get several economic updates this week that will also be watched by the Fed as it determines interest rate policy.

On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management released its manufacturing index for December showing the sector continued shrinking. More importantly, the business group will release its December report on the services sector on Wednesday. The services sector makes up the bulk of the U.S. economy and it grew, even if only slightly, throughout most of 2025.

Reports on the job market later this week, which include updates for job openings and overall employment, will be a bigger focus for the Fed. The central bank has been weighing a slowing job market against risks for rising inflation as it decides whether to cut interest rates. It cut its benchmark rate three times late in 2025, but inflation has remained above its 2% target and that has made the Fed more cautious.

Wall Street still expects the Fed to hold rates steady at its upcoming meeting later in January.

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AP business writer Elaine Kurtenbach and AP video journalist Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.