U.S. stocks posted a modest recovery on Wednesday following the sharpest selling in three months, as investors digested President Donald Trump’s comments in Davos, including a new push to acquire Greenland.
Speaking before world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, Trump insisted that only the United States can truly guarantee Greenland’s security. However, he said he would not “use force” to take control and called for immediate negotiations to reach a takeover deal.
Markets remained cautious after Tuesday’s plunge, when all three major U.S. indices fell nearly 2% following Trump’s warning that new tariffs could be imposed on European allies if he was not allowed to purchase Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
“That (the suggestion of not using force) probably put a floor on the recent sale: We’re not going to use force to acquire Greenland. That’s a relief to the markets,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.
“But we are certainly concerned about reigniting a trade war.”
The CBOE Volatility Index eased from its mid-November highs, falling 1.22 points to 18.87.
US megacaps Nvidia and Tesla, which were among the hardest hit in Tuesday’s selling, rose 0.4% each.
At 09:38 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones rose 203.56 points (0.42%) to 48,692.15; the S&P 500 advanced 27.28 points (0.40%) to 6,824.14; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 45 points (0.20%) to 22,999.6.
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Data and results in focus
Investors will also follow comments from other business and global leaders in Davos. In Washington, markets will watch the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear arguments over Trump’s attempt to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
In addition, it’s a week with plenty of economic data in the US, including third-quarter GDP, January PMI readings and the Personal Consumption Expenditures report, the Fed’s benchmark inflation measure. Added to this is a calendar of corporate results with Procter & Gamble and Intel, which will offer insights on consumer demand and overall economic momentum.
Netflix shares fell 4.2% after the streaming giant paused share buybacks to fund its purchase of the Warner Bros. Discovery studio and streaming businesses.
United Airlines rose 3% after issuing an upbeat forecast for the current quarter and full year. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines rose more than 1.5% each.
Halliburton gained 2.7% after beating fourth-quarter profit estimates, while Johnson & Johnson fell 1.6% despite forecasting 2026 sales and profits above Wall Street estimates.
Of the 33 S&P 500 companies that reported quarterly earnings through last Friday, 84.8% beat analyst estimates, according to data from LSEG I/B/E/S, compared to the historical average of 67.3%.
Elsewhere, U.S. nuclear companies rose after Trump supported nuclear power procurement: NuScale Power rose 4.8%, Nano Nuclear Energy gained 4% and Sam Altman-backed Oklo advanced 2.7%.
Kraft Heinz fell nearly 1% after a regulatory filing showed Berkshire Hathaway could sell its 27.5% stake in the consumer company.
With information from Reuters.
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