EMEA Morning Briefing: Markets Cheer Easing of Greenland Tensions

MARKET WRAPS

Watch For:

Eurozone flash consumer confidence indicator; U.K. public sector finances; trading updates for Investor AB, Harbour Energy, B&M European Value Retail, EQT

Opening Call:

European stock futures were higher after Asia stocks broadly rose. U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar were flat. Gold fell and oil rose.

Equities:

European equity futures rose as U.S. President Donald Trump gave investors a welcome reprieve from tariff threats--part of his bid to acquire Greenland from Denmark.

Overnight on Wall Street, U.S. stocks rebounded sharply after Trump said he would abandon his plan to impose levies against European allies.

The announced framework for a NATO deal involving Greenland helped ease fears, but still lacked details, said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers.

That uncertainty helps explain why Wednesday's reversal failed to fully recoup Tuesday's losses for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, he added.

"Once you introduce tariffs to the discussion among our largest trading partners, that instantly changes it from a geopolitical event that the markets can largely ignore, to one that they have to pay immediate attention to," said Sosnick.

Forex:

The U.S. dollar held steady. President Trump said on Truth Social that "we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland" and that he would no longer impose fresh tariffs on some European countries.

Market relief has followed the softer tariff rhetoric, said two FX strategists at OCBC Group Research.

With the Greenland headline risk abating, markets have refocused on an improving global macro backdrop, the strategists said.

Bonds:

Long-term Treasurys are likely to remain under pressure, with the 10-year yield trending higher, particularly if the Fed turns dovish, said Angel Oak's Clayton Triick.

"If the fed funds rate falls, I think that would actually steepen the curve a lot more," he said.

One reason would be investors' perception that too-low interest rates now would result in a hiking cycle down the road, mostly if the economy remains healthy. But Triick said relatively high government yields in other countries, particularly Japan, could drive long-term Treasurys down in price and up in yields.

Energy:

Oil edged higher, aided by prospects of stronger demand.

The IEA lifted its forecast for global oil-demand growth owing to an improved economic outlook and lower crude prices. The IEA now expects demand to grow by 930,000 barrels a day this year, up from 860,000 barrels a day projected previously.

Sentiment has been boosted by a slightly more positive outlook from the IEA, ANZ Research analysts said.

Metals:

Gold fell amid easing U.S.-Europe tensions over Greenland, which could reduce the safe-haven allure of the precious metal.

Markets have "breathed a sigh of relief," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst for Global Macro at FOREX.com. "Caution remains the order of the day.

After all, Trump will continue to weaponize his tariffs policy to get the same result," the analyst added.

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Copper gained. That is likely due to signs of tightness in the base metal, ANZ Research analysts said in a note.

Concerns around tightness are unlikely to be eased by the continuing supply-side issues copper is facing, they wrote. Such worries are also currently exacerbated by fears of additional U.S. tariffs on refined metals, which has seen metal flowing into the U.S. and weighing on supplies for the rest of the market, they added.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Inside Trump's Head-Spinning Greenland U-Turn

DAVOS, Switzerland-When President Trump arrived in the snow-covered Swiss Alps on Wednesday afternoon, European leaders were panicking that his efforts to acquire Greenland would trigger a trans-Atlantic conflagration. By the time the sun set, Trump had backed down.

The about-face followed days of back-channel conversations between Trump, his advisers and European leaders, including NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to people close to the talks. The Europeans, who stood united in their opposition to Trump acquiring Greenland, employed a mix of enticements, such as offers to boost Arctic security, and warnings, including about the dangers to the U.S. of a deeper rupture in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Deutsche Borse Group to Acquire Allfunds for $6.19 Billion

Deutsche Borse Group signed an agreement to acquire wealth management company Allfunds for about 5.3 billion euros, or roughly $6.19 billion.

The price represents a 32.5% premium to Allfunds' closing price of 6.64 euros a share on Nov. 26 and a 40.3% premium for Allfunds' weighted average price for the three-month period ended Nov. 26, Deutsche Borse Group said Wednesday.

Why AMD's stock just rocketed to its longest winning streak in nearly a year

Advanced Micro Devices shares extended their rally into a seventh session as optimism builds for the company's business of selling central processing units for artificial-intelligence servers.

When the chip maker announces fourth-quarter earnings results next month, KeyBanc analyst John Vinh said he's expecting a revenue beat and higher guidance, mostly driven by strong demand for AMD's server CPUs, noting the latest-generation Turin data-center CPU.

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Expected Major Events for Thursday

00:01/UK: BRC Consumer Sentiment Monitor

05:30/NED: Dec House Price Index

05:30/NED: Jan Consumer confidence survey

07:00/UK: Dec Public sector finances

07:00/DEN: Jan Consumer expectations

07:00/NOR: Dec Labour force survey SA, incl unemployment

09:00/POL: Dec PPI

09:00/POL: Dec Average gross wages

09:00/POL: Dec Industrial Production Index

09:00/NOR: Norges Bank monetary policy decision

10:00/MLT: Dec RPI

10:00/BEL: Jan Consumer Confidence Survey

11:00/IRL: Dec WPI

11:00/TUR: Turkish interest rate decision

11:00/UK: Jan CBI Distributive Trades Survey

15:00/EU: Jan FCCI Flash Consumer Confidence Indicator

15:59/UKR: Dec Industrial Production

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 22, 2026 00:15 ET (05:15 GMT)