Closing post
Time to recap:
US energy stocks have risen, after Donald Trump promised to unlock Venezuela’s vast crude oil reserves following the US capture of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
Shares in Chevron, which already operates in Venezuela under a special licence provided by the Trump administration, rose 4% when Wall Street opened. Exxon Mobil was up 1.6%, while Halliburton, which provides products and services to the oil and gas sector, jumped 7%.
Chevron helped to lift the Dow Jones industrial average to a new alltime high, as global markets posted gains today.
Oil prices were also up on Monday, after recovering from a brief drop. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 1.2% to $61.48 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate was up 1.4% at $58.11.
Gold, silver, and defence company shares all rallied today too, as did Venezuela’s government bonds as investors looked to profit from a future debt restructuring.
Here’s the full story:
And here’s our rolling coverage of the aftermath of the US raid to capture Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro:
Updated
FTSE 100 share index closes over 10,000 points for first time
Newsflash: Britain’s blue-chip share index has closed over the 10,000 point mark for the first time.
The FTSE 100 index of the biggest companies listed in London has closed at 10,004 points, up 53 points or 0.54% today.
Copper producer Antofagasta was the top riser, up 5.9%, following the rise in the copper price to record highs today. Precious metals producer Endeavour Mining jumped 5.5%, as the dash for safe haven assets lifted gold and silver today.
Defence firms BAE Systems (5.2%) and Babcock (+4.6%) were also in the top risers.
Last Friday the ‘Footsie’ rose over 10,000 points, to an intraday record high of 10,046 points, before dropping back. That followed a strong 2025, when the index jumped by over 20%.
