European Stocks soared on Thursday in response to comments from Donald Trump suggesting that he would not impose tariffs on European nations regarding Greenland, and that he had reached a framework agreement with Denmark regarding that territory. At 3:05 AM ET (8:05 AM GMT), Germany’s DAX Index was up 1.2%, France’s CAC 40 was up 1.3%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.7%. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump reaffirmed his stance against the use of military action regarding Greenland, after previously stating that he did not see it as an option.
Additionally, he tweeted on his personal account that he would not be going through with the tariffs that were first mentioned on February 1. He said he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte developed a “framework for a future agreement with regards to Greenland, and the Arctic as well”, during discussions in Davos.
After Trump’s threats of raising tariffs against many European countries unless the U.S. was permitted to acquire Greenland, stock exchanges throughout Europe fell dramatically at the beginning of the week. Due to Lagarde’s public comments regarding the lack of confidence in the long-standing relationship between Europe and the U.S., the future of this alliance appears to be in doubt. As Lagarde stated earlier in the day at the same conference, European nations must prepare themselves for “a deep review” to combat the rise of a new global economic system.
Major Economic Announcements are very sparse for Thursday in Europe. However, there are important U.S. economic announcements that will be the focus for investors. In addition to providing strong indicators on employment growth, the report of initial weekly jobless claims will also provide some initial insight into employment strength; as well as gross domestic product for Q3 will indicate strong economic growth.
Yet the most watched economic report will probably be November core personal consumption expenditures inflation, the Fed’s preferred measure of price growth. Investors will be looking for an indication of the future direction of interest rates in the United States.
In Europe, Associated British Foods (ABF) has Announced That Underlying Sales Were Down during the Christmas trading period, as forecasted by the company’s previous profit warning issued earlier in the month. Bankinter (bkt) has recorded its highest annual net profit of €1.09 billion in 2025 (+14.4%) due to strong growth in off-balance sheet funds and fee income, which compensated for a decline in net interest income due to decreasing interest rates. In 2025, Galenica (GALE) reported the highest sales in its history with A 5.5% increase in total sales, with growth coming from all of its segments. The Company also reconfirmed guidance for ebit between 10-12% growth for 2025.
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Huber + Suhner, a Swiss manufacturer of connectivity components, announced that its full-year order intake was nearly 14% higher than the previous year; however, the company stated that net sales fell by 3.3% due to the strengthening of the Swiss franc relative to other currencies. Oil prices were relatively stable on Thursday following news of the reduced likelihood of tariffs being imposed on oil shipments from Greenland; however, they were still affected by the increase in U.S. crude oil inventories.
Brent crude oil futures fell 0.30% to $65.02 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures decreased 0.20% to $60.49 per barrel. The American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. crude oil inventories increased by approximately 3.2 million barrels in the week ending January 16, following a larger increase of approximately 5.5 million barrels during the prior week.
Gasoline inventories also increased by 6.21 million barrels, which indicates weaker consumer demand, while distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, experienced a decrease of 33,000 barrels. The Energy Information Administration is expected to publish its own official estimate of U.S. crude oil stocks later today, since Monday was a federal holiday in the U.S.
