By Kevin Buckland
Tokyo — Asian stocks extended their record climb on Tuesday, taking the baton from Wall Street, where gains for oil companies and financials helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record peak.
US big oil got a boost from the country’s military raid at the weekend that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Crude oil eased back after rising $1 a barrel overnight as traders assessed the possible effect on crude flows from Venezuela, home to the world’s largest oil reserves.
Overall, however, the events had a limited effect on risk sentiment, with equities driven more by momentum and currencies focused on macroeconomic data.
The dollar was steady ahead of monthly jobs figures on Friday. It surged to a four-week top in the prior session only to give back all of its gains by the close, after a gauge of manufacturing activity slumped to a 14-month low.
Precious metals hovered not far from record highs, while copper set a record.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares climbed 0.4% to its highest-ever level, driven primarily by advances for Japanese stocks, with the Topix index jumping 1.3% to a record peak.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7%, mainland Chinese blue chips gained 0.3% and Australia’s stock benchmark rose 1%. South Korea’s Kopsi eased 0.4% from record-high levels reached on Monday.
US S&P 500 futures tacked on 0.1% following a 0.6% rise in the cash index overnight. Chevron leapt more than 5%.
US President Donald Trump said he would put Venezuela under temporary American control and that he could order another strike if the South American nation does not co-operate with US efforts to open up its oil industry and stop drug trafficking. He also threatened military action in Colombia and Mexico.
Trump plans to meet with executives from US oil companies later this week to discuss boosting Venezuelan oil production, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Venezuela’s “relatively small economy ... seems to have convinced investors that the global economy and financial markets are unlikely to be directly affected”, while ramping up the country’s oil production “will require years to come to fruition”, Yusuke Matsuo, senior market economist at Mizuho Securities, wrote in a client note.
“That said, geopolitical concerns seem likely to persist in 2026, and while risk assets remain solid performers, we think gold — considered a safe-haven asset — will also do well.”
Brent crude futures lost 19c to $61.57 a barrel in the latest session, while US West Texas Intermediate crude eased 22c to $58.10.
Gold was flat at about $4,449/oz after a 2.7% climb on Monday. It sits less than $100 from its record peak last month at $4,548.92.
Copper prices rose to record highs in London and Shanghai as concerns about supplies intensified following a strike at a Chilean mine. US Comex copper reached a record high on Monday.
The dollar was flat at ¥156.47 and also little changed at $1.1724 to the euro. Sterling bought $1.3539.
The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of those three rivals and three more major peers, edged down 0.1% to 98.291. It popped as high as 98.861 on Monday for the first time since December 10.
The closely watched US monthly employment report, due on Friday, will be key in shaping expectations for the outlook for monetary policy.
Traders currently expect two Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year, according to calculations based on futures.
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