New York, Jan 5, 2026, 17:01 EST — After-hours
- The Dow rose 1.23% to a record close, led by energy and big banks.
- Oil and defense shares climbed after the U.S. strike in Venezuela and Trump’s follow-on comments.
- Traders are now focused on Friday’s U.S. jobs report and next week’s CPI and bank earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record on Monday, lifted by energy and financial stocks after a U.S. military strike captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to a Reuters market report.
The move matters because it puts geopolitics back into the pricing of oil and defense names just as investors are trying to judge how much the Federal Reserve may cut rates this year. Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report is the next major test for that view.
It also lands days before the fourth-quarter earnings season ramps up, with traders watching whether banks can justify the sector’s early-year bid. JPMorgan Chase is due to report results on Jan. 13, the bank said.
The Dow ended up 1.23% at 48,977.18. The S&P 500 rose 0.64% and the Nasdaq gained 0.69%, Reuters reported.
Energy led after Washington’s action in Venezuela, with the S&P 500 energy index up 2.7% to its highest since March 2025, Reuters said. Exxon Mobil and Chevron advanced, and Chevron was up more than 5% in extended trading in a separate Reuters report.
The Dow is a price-weighted index, meaning higher-priced stocks carry more influence on the gauge than lower-priced ones.
Financials also did heavy lifting. The S&P 500 financials index jumped 2.2%, while Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan hit record highs, Reuters reported.
“The mood has been favoring financial stocks in recent days and as people look beyond tech, this is a sector many are choosing to look toward,” Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers, told Reuters. Reuters
Defense stocks rose as well, with Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics higher and an S&P aerospace and defense index at a record, Reuters said.
Still, the rally came with cross-currents. Apple fell 1.4% and Nvidia slipped 0.4%, while data showed U.S. manufacturing contracted more than expected in December, extending a 10-month slump, Reuters reported. Markets are pricing about 60 basis points (0.60 percentage point) of rate cuts in 2026, Reuters said.
But traders said the Venezuela shock could still cut both ways: another escalation could jolt risk appetite, while any shift in U.S. sanctions policy will shape whether the story becomes a sustained oil-and-energy trade or a one-day burst.
Next up is the U.S. employment report for December, due Jan. 9 at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by the CPI report on Jan. 13 and JPMorgan’s earnings the same day.
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