U.S. Stocks May See Further Upside Amid Easing Greenland Tensions

After ending yesterday’s volatile session sharply higher, stocks may see further upside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to initial strength on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.6 percent.

Stocks may 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.

Not long after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on personal income and spending in the months of October and November.

The report includes typically closely watched readings on consumer price inflation, although the data may be viewed as old news.

After showing a strong move to the upside early in the session, stocks saw significant volatility over the course of the trading day on Wednesday.

The major averages largely gave back their early gains in late morning trading before experiencing an afternoon resurgence and ending the day sharply higher.

The major averages all posted strong gains on the day, partly offsetting the steep drop seen on Tuesday. The Dow surged 588.64 points or 1.2 percent to 49,077.23, the Nasdaq shot up 270.50 points or 1.2 percent to 23,224.82 and the S&P 500 jumped 78.76 points or 1.2 percent to 6,875.62.

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 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 1.0 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are tumbling $0.93 to $59.69 a barrel after rising $0.26 to $60.62 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after climbing $71.70 to $4,837.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $12.90 to $4,824.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.70 yen versus the 158.25 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1682 compared to yesterday’s $1.1711.

Business News