{"id":68956,"date":"2026-01-21T18:17:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2026\/01\/21\/major-european-markets-close-roughly-flat-after-trumps-davos-speech\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T18:17:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:17:19","slug":"major-european-markets-close-roughly-flat-after-trumps-davos-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2026\/01\/21\/major-european-markets-close-roughly-flat-after-trumps-davos-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Major European Markets Close Roughly Flat After Trump’s Davos Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
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European stocks pared early losses and settled on a mixed note on Wednesday as investors largely stayed cautious for much of the trading session till about mid afternoon, and then weighed U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos later on in the day.<\/p>\n

The U.S. President ruled out the use of military force to take control of Greenland during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

Rather than using military force, Trump called for “immediate negotiations” with Denmark to “discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.”<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Trump said on Tuesday that he will impose a 200% tariff on Fench wines and Champagnes, a move he claimed would push French President Emmanuel Macron to ?join the Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving ?global conflicts.<\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.02%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 closed up by 0.11% and France’s CAC 40 settled with a small gain of 0.08%, while Germany’s DAX ended down by 0.58%. Switzerland’s SMI closed 0.1% down.<\/p>\n

Among other markets<\/span> in Europe, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Sweden ended higher.<\/p>\n

Denmark, Poland and Turkiye closed weak, while Belgium, Portugal and Spain ended flat.<\/p>\n

In the UK market, miners had a good outing, while bank stocks traded weak.<\/p>\n

Rio Tinto climbed about 5.2%. Anglo American Plc and Glencore moved up 4.9% and 3.75%, respectively. Fresnillo, Endeavour Mining and Antofagasta also closed with strong gains.<\/p>\n

Burberry Group surged 5% as the fashion house reported that retail like-for-like sales rose 3% in its third quarter, beating market expectations.<\/p>\n

JD Sports Fashion, Bunzl, Croda International, Halma, IAG, Diageo, Pershing Square Holdings, Ashtead Group, DCC, IMI and Spirax Group also posted impressive gains.<\/p>\n

Experian shed nearly % after the credit data and analytics company kept its FY expectations unchanged.<\/p>\n

Admiral Group closed lower by 4.1%. LSEG, Rolls-Royce Holdings, The Sage Group, Compass Group, ICG, Whitbread, AstraZeneca, Imperial Brands and Relx also ended notably lower.<\/p>\n

In the German market, Munich RE, Deutsche Boerse, Rheinmetall, Hannover Rueck, Siemens Healthineers, Allianz, Deutsche Telekom, Zalando, SAP, MTU Aero Engines and Continental lost 1 to 3%.<\/p>\n

Qiagen rallied 5.7%, buoyed by a Bloomberg report that the company is considering strategic options amid fresh takeover interest. <\/p>\n

BASF gained nearly 4%, and Daimler Truck Holding moved up 3.65%. Brenntag climbed 2.7%, while Infineon, Fresenius Medical Care, Henkel, Volkswagen, Symrise, Mercedes-Benz, Beiersdorf, RWE, Porsche Automobil Holding and Scout24 gained 0.8 to 2%.<\/p>\n

In the French market, Danone tanked more than 8%, weighed down by rating downgrades by analysts. Bank of America has reiterated its underperform rating on the stock and slightly lowered its price target.<\/p>\n

AXA closed 2.2% down. Thales, Orange, Bouygues and Unibail Rodamco also ended notably lower.<\/p>\n

Edenred shares soared nearly 11% after the company confirmed robust underlying trends, reiterating its 2025 guidance for more than 10% like-for-like EBITDA growth.<\/p>\n

ArcelorMittal gained nearly 4.5%, while STMicroElectronics, Renault, Pernod Ricard, TP and LVMH moved up by 2.7 to 4%. Michelin, Stellanti, Kering, Veolia Environment and TotalEnergies also posted strong gains.<\/p>\n

Danone tumbled nearly 6.5%, weighed down by rating downgrades by analysts. Bank of America has reiterated its underperform rating on the stock and slightly lowered its price target.<\/p>\n

In economic news, data from the Office for National Statistics showed the consumer price index in the UK posted an annual growth of 3.4% in December after rising 3.2% in November. Inflation was expected to climb 3.3% in December.<\/p>\n

On a monthly basis, consumer prices gained 0.4%, reversing a 0.2% fall in November. The monthly increase matched expectations.<\/p>\n

Another data from ONS showed input price inflation softened to 0.8% in December from 1.1% in November. At the same time, output price inflation held steady at 3.4%.<\/p>\n

On a monthly basis, input prices dropped 0.2%, in contrast to the 0.5% increase a month ago. Output prices remained flat after November’s 0.1% gain.<\/p>\n

In a separate communiqu\u00e9, the ONS said average house prices grew 2.5% on a yearly basis in November following an increase of 1.9% in October. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n