Following the sell-off seen in the previous session, stocks have shown a significant move back to the upside during trading on Wednesday. The major averages have partly offset yesterday’s slump but remain well off their recent highs.
Currently, the major averages are off their best levels of the day but still sharply higher. The Dow is up 440.97 points or 0.9 percent at 48,929.56, the Nasdaq is up 270.66 points or 1.2 percent at 23,224.98 and the S&P 500 is up 68.48 points or 1.0 percent at 6,865.34.
The rebound on Wall Street comes after President Donald Trump ruled out the use of military force to take control of Greenland during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won’t do that. Okay?” Trump said.
“Now everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, good.’ That’s probably the biggest statement I made, because people thought I would use force,” he continued. “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
Rather than using military force, Trump called for “immediate negotiations” with Denmark to “discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.”
Trump recently threatened to impose new tariffs on several European nations if they oppose his attempt to purchase the Danish territory, which he claims is imperative for national security.
In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing pending home sales pulled back by far more than expected in the month of December.
NAR said its pending home sales plummeted by 9.3 percent to 71.8 in December after surging by 3.3 percent to 79.2 in November. Economists had expected pending home sales to dip by 0.3 percent.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
Sector News
Oil service stocks are turning in some of the market’s best performances on the day, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiking by 4.1 percent.
Substantial strength is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 3.5 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Oil producer, biotechnology and transportation stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while software stocks are among the few groups bucking the uptrend.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 0.4 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after moving sharply lower over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.4 basis points at 4.271 percent.
U.S. Stocks Rebound As Trump Rules Out Using Force To Acquire Greenland
2026-01-21 16:32:59
