Trump ruled out the use of military force to acquire Greenland. Natural gas prices jumped 20%

The US stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday, paring some of the previous session’s losses, after markets reacted positively to President Donald Trump’s statement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he ruled out the use of military force to acquire Greenland. By the end of the day, the Dow Jones (US30) rose by 1.26%. The S&P 500 (US500) climbed 1.16%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (US100) closed higher by 1.18%. The technology sector was the primary driver of the growth: shares of AMD, Intel, and Micron jumped between 6% and 12%, while broader market segments also stabilized as fears of a sharp escalation in tensions between the US and Europe eased. However, uncertainty has not entirely vanished, as Trump reaffirmed his commitment to seeking control over Greenland and maintained the threat of economic pressure on European allies.

European equity markets traded with mixed performance yesterday. The German DAX (DE40) fell by 0.58%, the French CAC 40 (FR40) closed up 0.08%, the Spanish IBEX 35 (ES35) rose by 0.06%, and the British FTSE 100 (UK100) closed at positive 0.11%. The US President Donald Trump ruled out the use of military force to acquire Greenland and backed away from previously proposed tariffs on European countries, announcing the achievement of a framework for a future agreement with NATO, the details of which remain uncertain. At the same time, Denmark confirmed it has no intention of discussing the transfer of its territory to the US, and the European Parliament suspended the approval process for the EU-US trade agreement reached in July, maintaining a high level of uncertainty.

On Thursday, platinum (XPT) and silver (XAG) prices fell by more than 3%, retreating from all-time highs amid a general easing of precious metal prices.
WTI crude oil prices partially recovered their losses on Wednesday, rising toward the $60.5 per barrel level. Market sentiment improved following Trump’s comments in Davos, although tensions between the US and the EU persist, and the trade agreement remains frozen after the European Parliament suspended the ratification vote. Prices received additional support from revised expectations by the International Energy Agency, which raised its estimate for global oil demand growth in 2026 and slightly lowered expectations regarding the scale of the supply surplus.

Daily trading volume for US gas futures on the CME exchange broke an all-time record yesterday. On Wednesday, the US natural gas prices jumped more than 20% to $4.7 per MMBtu, continuing a sharp rally following a roughly 26% gain earlier in the week. Weather prognosis has shifted dramatically toward significant cooling. Updated expectations for the long holiday weekend indicate a deep and massive Arctic intrusion that will cover a large part of the country in the coming weeks.

Asian markets were mostly lower yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) fell by 0.41%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) dropped 0.35%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) rose by 0.37%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) posted a negative result of 0.37%.

On Thursday, the Australian dollar (AUD) strengthened to around $0.679, nearing a sixteen-month high, as easing tensions between the US and Europe improved global risk appetite, and strong labor market data bolstered expectations for policy tightening by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Statistics showed that employment rose by 65,200 in December, significantly exceeding expectations, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a seven-month low of 4.1%. Against this backdrop, markets sharply revised rate expectations, increasing the probability of a 25-basis-point hike at the February 3 meeting from 27% to 54%, while such a hike is already fully priced in by May.

The New Zealand dollar (NZD) strengthened to around $0.585, reaching a four-month high, ahead of the release of the fourth-quarter Consumer Price Index report on Friday, which could clarify the monetary policy outlook for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Annual inflation is expected to accelerate to 3%, reaching the upper bound of the RBNZ’s 1-3% target range, and any stronger reading could bolster the case for interest rate hikes. Recent macroeconomic data point to a steady economic recovery in the country, strengthening expectations that the regulator could move toward policy tightening later in the year.