Bel20 hits record high as stock markets shrug off US intervention in Venezuela
The US attack on Venezuela at the weekend did not seem to dampen investor optimism, as the Brussels stock exchange set a new record on Monday. On Wall Street, major oil companies opened markedly higher, after US president Donald Trump promised massive investments in the Venezuelan oil sector.
The US attack on Venezuela might have increased geopolitical tensions, but has not shaken investor confidence for the future. During intraday trading on Monday, the Bel20 index climbed to a record high of 5,146.56 points, before retreating later in the session. At the close, the index stood at 5,099.49 points.
Other European markets also reached record levels. The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.9 per cent to finish above 600 points for the first time. Germany’s DAX also hit a new high, led by defence manufacturer Rheinmetall, which surged over 8 per cent. In London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.5 per cent and closed above 10,000 points for the first time.
Wall Street also reacted positively to the US intervention in Venezuela, during which president Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and transferred to the US. President Trump has promised billions of dollars of investments in Venezuelan energy infrastructure and the revival the country’s oil industry.
Shares in Chevron, the only major US oil company currently operating in Venezuela, gained more than 5 per cent in early trading. Other oil majors, including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, also advanced, as did companies providing services to the energy sector.
Analysts estimate that around 100 billion dollars is needed to modernise Venezuela’s oil industry. Years of corruption, underinvestment, theft and accidents have left much of the sector largely dormant.
© PHOTO GIORGIO VIERA / AFP
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