LONDON, January 22, 2026, 12:32 GMT
- Wall Street surged to its best day in two months after Trump eased off on tariff threats tied to Greenland
- Asian shares edged higher, led by tech, with South Korea’s Kospi briefly topping 5,000
- Gold eased back from record highs as volatility cooled, with traders turning their attention to upcoming earnings and central bank decisions
Global shares edged higher on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump took a softer stance on Greenland, easing a surge of market jitters that had unsettled stocks, bonds, and currencies.
The relief is notable, given that earlier tariff threats had sparked fresh worries about a trade war. This comes as investors weigh whether corporate earnings can justify high stock valuations.
This week is loaded with policy decisions, central bank actions, and inflation data dominating the agenda. Traders stay cautious, on edge for any abrupt moves sparked by geopolitical events.
Wall Street surged Wednesday as the S&P 500 jumped 1.16%, the Dow gained 588.64 points, and the Nasdaq climbed 1.18%. The boost came after Trump said a deal on Greenland and the Arctic means tariffs planned for Feb. 1 won’t go ahead. Strong bank earnings lifted the regional banking index to its highest close since November 2024. Halliburton and United Airlines also climbed on solid results and upbeat forecasts, while Netflix slipped after issuing a cautious outlook. “What is the economic impact is whether we all start imposing tariffs on each other,” said Jason Pride, chief of investment strategy and research at Glenmede. 1
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.7% to 53,688.89 on Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.9% to close at 4,952.44, after briefly topping 5,000 for the first time, driven by tech shares. SoftBank Group surged 11.6%, while Disco Corp climbed 17.1% in Japan. In Seoul, SK Hynix rose 2%, and Samsung Electronics added 1.9%. Hong Kong and Shanghai markets showed little change. 2
European shares clawed back gains, with the STOXX index jumping more than 1% early on. The VIX, Wall Street’s so-called “fear gauge,” eased off. Gold dropped from record levels, hovering near $4,829 an ounce. Meanwhile, the euro held firm around $1.17 as investors turned their attention to the upcoming Bank of Japan meeting, U.S. core PCE data—a critical inflation gauge for the Fed—and earnings from Intel and Procter & Gamble. Michael Metcalfe at State Street said markets can “look through” headline volatility. Damian Rooney at Argonaut weighed in, confirming the “TACO” trade—Wall Street slang for “Trump Always Chickens Out”—is “certainly real.” 3
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged allies to ramp up Arctic security within the Greenland framework, telling Reuters he was confident it could be done “quite fast.” Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made clear Greenland’s sovereignty isn’t up for negotiation with NATO, though she welcomed discussions on Arctic security. Dirk Jandura, head of Germany’s wholesale and export association BGA, warned, “What President Trump announces today may be obsolete tomorrow,” stressing that reliability remains crucial for investment and growth. 4
Calm may not last long. The framework offers scant public details, and traders who rushed into hedges earlier this week might hold back on unwinding positions if tariff tensions flare up again.
Trump’s weekend threat to impose 10% tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland sent U.S. stocks tumbling Tuesday—before he reversed course at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, oversees crucial Arctic sea routes and is rich in mineral resources.
