The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and US President Donald Trump said the South American country would be placed under temporary US control. Trump told reporters on Sunday that he could order another strike if Caracas does not cooperate with Washington's efforts to open up its oil industry and halt drug trafficking.
Nonetheless, investors seemed to discount any clear negative impact on the global economy—at least in the short term—from the US intervention in Venezuela, which holds the world's largest oil reserves.
In the oil market, prices fell slightly on the view that US military action is unlikely to disrupt a well-supplied energy market.
Investors were focused on a series of US macroeconomic indicators to be released throughout the week, which could be crucial for anticipating the Fed's monetary policy path. Market watchers believe that the recent streak of positive US data suggests a potentially slower pace of interest rate cuts this year.
The data parade begins Monday with the ISM manufacturing index and culminates Friday with the monthly US jobs report, following several employment indicators serving as an appetizer.
Also on the radar is President Donald Trump's choice of the next Fed chair, as Jerome Powell's term ends in May. Trump has said he will announce his decision this month and that Powell's successor will be someone more inclined to lower borrowing costs.
Analysts at Renta 4 indicated on their Telegram channel that "the three main drivers (of the bullish trend) are AI, Fed rate cuts, and generally robust corporate earnings in the high single digits."
"News about AI continues to drive the market in the short term (...), although it could turn into a poisoned chalice as the year progresses if some of the companies specializing in its development go public with ambitious valuations. But that hasn't happened yet, and there are still months of relative calm ahead."
These analysts note that a potential regime change in Venezuela, if realized, "will make oil cheaper, which will reduce the already limited inflationary pressures and suggests an economic reconstruction that should somewhat support market sentiment."
In its second session of 2026, the IBEX 35 rose 0.35% to 17,552.9 points, its highest level ever, as of 0805 GMT.
The index posted an annual gain of nearly 50% in 2025, the second largest on record, and in its first session of the new year it added 1%, reaching historic highs.
Meanwhile, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of major European stocks advanced 0.67%.
(Reporting by Tomás Cobos; edited by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)
