One of the helicopters carrying Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores arrives after they were captured overnight in Venezuela by U.S. forces, at the Westside Heliport in New York City, U.S. January 3, 2026.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
LONDON — European stocks are expected to open in mixed territory Monday as global markets react to the U.S.’ overthrow of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
The U.K.’s FTSE index and France’s CAC 40 are expected to open 0.6% higher, Germany’s DAX 0.5% higher and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 0.7%, according to data from IG.
Global financial and oil markets are reacting to dramatic developments in Venezuela over the weekend, with the U.S. launching strikes on the Latin American country before capturing President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Maduro and Flores were flown to New York following the operation Saturday and were indicted on drug-trafficking charges.
President Donald Trump said in a news conference on Saturday that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to walk back those comments on Sunday, however, noting that Washington would use leverage to meet policy goals. He also did not say the U.S. would govern Venezuela directly.
Oil prices inched up Monday as investors weighed whether Maduro’s ousting would impact oil shipments from OPEC member Venezuela, although the country produces less than 1 million barrels of oil per day.
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher overnight while U.S. stock futures were steady as traders tracked developments in the story.
On the data front, it’s a quiet day in Europe with just Spanish unemployment figures to look out for.
— CNBC’s Liz Napolitano and Fred Imbert contributed to this market report.