HONG KONG - Asian stocks rose on Monday on the back of a fresh rally in tech firms and oil fluctuated as investors weighed the impact of the US ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
While the South American leader's removal added to geopolitical risk on global markets, traders chose to focus on the long-running artificial intelligence boom and hopes for more US interest rate cuts.
The first full week of business for 2026 will also see the release of key jobs data that could play a role in the Federal Reserve's decision-making on borrowing costs.
Investors will also be on the lookout for an idea about who US President Donald Trump chooses to take the helm at the central bank when Jerome Powell steps down in May.
In early trade, Asian stocks were up across the board, led by markets with heavy tech presence.
Tokyo surged 2.8 percent thanks to tech investor SoftBank's four percent gains and chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron's five percent advance.
The Kospi in Seoul gained more than two percent, with SK Hynix up more than three percent and Samsung Electronics soaring 4.6 percent.
Taipei was 2.5 percent up as chip titan TSMC rocketed more than five percent.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington and Manila were also well up.
The gains suggest investors were brushing off worries that valuations in the tech sector have become stretched and warnings about the timing and size of returns on huge AI investments.
Safe-haven investment gold was up more than one percent at about $4,400 per ounce.
Oil shifted between gains and losses after US forces attacked Venezuela early Saturday, bombing military targets and spiriting away Maduro and his wife to face federal charges in New York.
Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, and more Venezuelan crude in the market could exacerbate oversupply concerns and add to recent pressure on prices.