US stocks close higher after military intervention in Venezuela, led by oil shares

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks closed higher on the first trading day of the week and since Saturday's US intervention in Venezuela, a signal that investors did not expect the operation would provoke more significant geopolitical disputes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.23%, or 594.79 points, closing Monday at an all-time high of 48,977.18.

The Nasdaq increased 0.69%, or 160.19 points, to 23,395.82, while the S&P 500 added 0.64%, or 43.58 points, to 6,902.05.

The Volatility Index (VIX), also known as the "fear index," climbed 2.69% to 14.9.

Following the US' weekend intervention in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, stock markets enjoyed an upward trend.

The US is “in charge” of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Sunday following the operation that resulted in Maduro and Flores' capture, with US forces flying them out to New York, where they pled not guilty on drug- and weapons-related charges.

Trump said major US oil companies would be brought in to rebuild Venezuela’s infrastructure, saying they would invest billions of dollars without US government funding.

"The big oil companies (are) going to go in and they’re going to fix the infrastructure. They’re going to invest money. We’re not going to invest anything. We’re going to just take care of the country," he said.

Analysts noted that oil prices reacted only slightly to the intervention, suggesting that investors were acting on the expectation that this development would not escalate into a wider geopolitical crisis that would further shake up markets.

Following the developments, shares of US oil companies rose, with Chevron up 5.1%, ConocoPhillips up 2.6% and Exxon Mobil up 2.2%.

In the energy sector, Halliburton shares rose 7.8%, as did Baker Hughes by 4.1%.

Buying interest also extended to defense stocks. AeroVironment shares rose 16.1%, Kratos gained 13.4%, General Dynamics climbed 3.6 % and Lockheed Martin added 2.9%.

On the macroeconomic data front, investors will focus on a series of data points that could guide the Federal Reserve's monetary policy this year, most notably non-farm payrolls data, set for release Friday.