Asian stock markets have opened on a strong footing on Monday, 5 January, for the first full trading week of 2026, ignoring the potential geopolitical tension arising from the direct inland attack on Venezuela by the US over the weekend that led to the capture and swift removal of Venezuela’s leader, Maduro, by US military forces.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped by 3% to hit a 7-week high, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index traded almost unchanged, while China’s A50 staged an intraday rally of 1.25 at the time of writing.
After the removal of Venezuela’s leader, Maduro, US President Trump has indicated that the US will “administer” Venezuela in the interim, without any definite timeline, and allow US oil and exploration companies to manage Venezuela’s oil fields, drawing parallels to a “Iraq 2.0” occupation.
Meanwhile, in today’s Asian session, gold (XAU/USD) rallied by 1.8%, the US Dollar Index inched higher by 0.28%, and WTI crude oil slipped by 0.6% over supply fears from the removal of Venezuela’s oil sanctions by the US.
Here are five intraday (hourly) technical setups on key cross-assets to watch as the trading session unfolds today in the aftermath of the US attack on Venezuelan soil.