Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday, adding to the strong gains posted in the previous session. The major averages have further offset the steep drop seen on Tuesday, with the Dow turning positive for the week.
Currently, the major averages are off their highs of the session but still in positive territory. The Dow is up 345.08 points or 0.7 percent at 49,422.31, the Nasdaq is up 186.76 points or 0.8 percent at 23,411.59 and the S&P 500 is up 36.94 points or 0.5 percent at 6,912.56.
The extended rebound on Wall Street comes as stocks continue to benefit from easing tensions over President Donald Trump’s efforts to take control of Greenland.
Trump ruled out the use of military force to acquire Greenland during a speech on Wednesday and later said he had reached the “framework” of a deal on the arctic territory.
As a result of the “framework” of a deal reached with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump pulled back from threats to impose sanctions on European countries that opposed his plans.
Some analysts see the strength on Wall Street as a return of the “TACO trade,” meaning “Trump Always Chickens Out,” as the president is often seen as backing down after scaring the markets with threats of new tariffs.
“There are a lot of similarities with the Liberation Day market wobble in April 2025 and now,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “In both situations, Trump took an aggressive stance and then backed down after financial markets wobbled.”
He added, “The US president has a keen eye on what happens with bonds and stocks, and the last thing he wants is to be accused of destroying people’s wealth.”
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a slight uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended January 17th.
The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 200,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 199,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 205,000 from the 198,000 originally reported for the previous month.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed consumer prices increased in line with economist estimates in the month of November.
Sector News
Gold stocks are seeing substantial strength on the day amid an uptick by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index spiking by 3.7 percent to a record closing high.
Significant strength is also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index has reached its best intraday level in well over two years.
Biotechnology, telecom and brokerage stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, while oil producer stocks have moved to the downside amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock market across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index spiked by 1.7 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi advanced by 0.9 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.9 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest weakness following the rebound in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.2 basis points at 4.265 percent.
U.S. Stocks Adding To Yesterday’s Strong Gains Amid Easing Greenland Tensions
2026-01-22 15:40:02
