By Dow Jones Newswires Staff
Global markets and U.S. futures rallied after President Trump back-tracked on threats to hit eight European countries with 10% tariffs in February. In a Truth Social post, Trump said that he agreed "the framework of a future deal" over Greenland with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. After jumping sharply Wednesday, U.S. equities continued to rally premarket, following broad gains in Asia and a strong European open.
Across the globe, the market picture looked closer to last Friday's close. Safe-haven precious metals fell back, while oil gained. U.S. Treasurys and the dollar stabilized following Trump's speech at Davos and subsequent tariff pivot. Sentiment was also improved by easing pressure on Japanese Government Bonds amid anticipation of policy intervention in Tokyo to soothe investor fears over soaring yields.
Markets will watch closely for detail on the agreement between Trump and European leaders as well as the release of U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures data later on Thursday, a metric favored by the Federal Reserve.
--U.S. futures continued to gain premarket. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index gained 0.6% premarket after semiconductor stocks led market gains in Asia. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures climbed 0.4%. All three indexes gained around 1.2% Wednesday.
GE, Intel and Capital One are among U.S. companies announcing earnings Thursday.
--Asian stocks mostly gained. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 1.7% with technology stocks leading the index. SoftBank Group, which owns stakes in a suite of companies related to artificial-intelligence, gained 11.6%, its biggest one-day gain since April 2025. South Korea's Kospi closed 0.9% higher after breaking above the 5000 threshold for the first time during the day, though Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both gained around 2%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.2%, while China's benchmark Shanghai Composite climbed 0.1%.
--European indexes opened to a sea of green, recouping some of this week's losses. Sectors that investors expected tariffs to hit most severely, like luxury and automakers, gained. In Frankfurt, the DAX jumped 1.25% as automakers surged, with Volkswagen gaining 5.1%. The French CAC 40 and Italian FTSE MIB rose 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively, both spurred higher by recovering luxury stocks. Kering gained 2.6% in Paris, while Brunello Cucinelli was up 3.1% in Milan. Spain's IBEX 35 climbed 1.1%. The FTSE 100 was up 0.7% even as miners fell back, while the Dutch AEX rose 1% as semiconductor stocks rallied. BE Semiconductor was up 2.2%.
--The dollar stabilized following recent losses. The dollar index traded steady at 98.775, having reached a two-week low of 98.246 Tuesday.
--Medium- and long-term U.S. Treasury yields held broadly steady, edging up higher in Asian afternoon trade as market sentiment improved. The 10-year Treasury yield edged up 0.2 bps to 4.254% as the Japanese government bond market found some calm amid expectations of soothing policy intervention in Tokyo. Possible measures could include increases in the Bank of Japan's JGB purchases and adjustments to debt issuance or bond buybacks, according to three members of Barclays' FICC Research. The focus now shifts to communication at the BOJ's meeting ending Friday, as well as to communication from Japanese authorities about possible reductions in superlong-JGB auctions and bond buybacks, the members say. The 10-year JGB yield was down 5 bps at 2.235%.
--Eurozone government bond yields were steady to marginally lower in opening trade as bond markets sailed to calmer waters after President Trump's tariff pivot. Supply also slowed after massive issuance by numerous sovereigns this week. France has two separate auctions for short- and medium-term bonds plus inflation-linked bonds, although the overall offer volume is relatively large. The 10-year Bund yield was unchanged at 2.876%, while the 10-year French OAT yield was down 0.8 basis points at 3.525%, according to LSEG.
--Bitcoin fell following a brief recovery above $90,000 as uncertainty remains elevated, keeping investors cautious on risky assets including cryptocurrencies. Moreover, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee has further postponed work on a crypto market structure bill that could create a regulatory framework for digital assets. Bloomberg reported that the bill could be delayed by several weeks. Bitcoin fell 0.5% to $89,738, according to LSEG data.
--Oil prices edged lower in early trading after geopolitical tensions over Greenland cooled, supporting broader markets. Brent crude was down 0.4% to $64.99 a barrel, while WTI slipped 0.3% to $59.90 a barrel. President Trump said he would hold off from imposing tariffs on several European countries after reaching the framework of a deal, a move that reduced risks of trade frictions that would likely weigh on global demand. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency reiterated its expectation of a significant supply glut this year, but raised its oil-demand growth expectations. Traders now await the release of official U.S. crude inventory data due later on Thursday after industry reports that stockpiles rose by 3 million barrels last week.
--Gold prices slipped after President Trump called off tariffs. Futures in New York were down 0.2% to $4,829.10 a troy ounce, though prices remain above the $4,800 level and on track for a 4% weekly gain. A hotter PCE inflation print on Thursday could lift the dollar and push back easing expectations, while a softer reading could bring an April rate cut firmly into focus, FP Markets' Aaron Hill said.
Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 22, 2026 04:39 ET (09:39 GMT)
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