ISTANBUL

Risk appetite increased in the global markets after US President Donald Trump said he would not impose tariffs on Greenland, while arguing he needs the island for national security reasons.

Trump’s remarks at the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland, eased some concerns regarding the fate of the island. Trump said he requested urgent negotiations to discuss the US acquisition of Greenland, noting he would not use force to seize control of the region.

Trump said he met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and established the framework for a future deal on Greenland and the entire Arctic region.

Following these developments, Trump decided not to impose tariffs on European countries due to their stance on the Greenland issue.

Trump had previously planned for Greenland-related additional tariffs to come into force on Feb. 1. He announced a 10% tariff on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland on Jan. 17, with the plan to increase this rate to 25% on June 1.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court case of Fed Board Member Lisa Cook’s dismissal by Trump is on the economy’s agenda.

During the two-hour hearing on Wednesday, Judge Brett Kavanaugh said the president’s dismissal without judicial review would “weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve.”

The court has yet to reach a decision, but optimism is on the rise that the Supreme Court may not let Trump fire Cook.

In light of these developments, the S&P 500 rose 1.16%, the Nasdaq 1.18%, and the Dow Jones 1.21%. American futures started Thursday positive.

At the same time, the US 10-year bond increased to 4.3160%, its highest since August 2025, due to the concerns that the tariff war may restart; however, the bond yield fell to 4.2580% on Wednesday after Trump backed out of Greenland tariffs.

Gold hit a record $4,888.14 on Wednesday amid geopolitical risks and further tariff tensions, but the precious metal lost some of its gains after Trump backtracked on tariffing European countries that stood against the Greenland acquisition, ending the day at $4,825 per ounce.

Gold is trading at $4,880 on Thursday, down 0.6%.

The US Dollar Index climbed 0.1% on Wednesday to 98.8, while trading flat on Thursday.

Brent crude oil rose 1.8% on Wednesday and 0.1% so far on Thursday, trading at $64.8 per barrel.

As for Europe, the continent’s stock markets were mixed on Wednesday, but the new trading day brought gains with Trump pulling back Greenland tariffs at the WEF.

Prior to Trump pulling back from the tariff move, Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee, had said on the US social media platform X that the “EU-US deal is on hold until further notice.”

These developments led the FTSE 100 to gain 0.11%, the CAC 40 to rise 0.08%, the FTSE MIB 30 to lose 0.5%, and the DAX 40 to decline 0.58%.

Meanwhile, in Asia, a mixed trend came to the fore due to easing tariff tensions, resulting in a reduction in risk perception in the region.

The decline in Japanese indexes was replaced by a buying-heavy trend on Wednesday, while Japanese Premier Sanae Takaichi is expected to dissolve the lower house of the Parliament to gear up for a snap election.

Japan’s ruling party officials expect the election campaign to start on Jan. 27, while voting takes place on Feb. 8.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is expected to keep its policy rate unchanged at 0.75% on Friday. Investors are on the lookout for further signals from the bank’s decision to give some insight into its future policy roadmap and the bank’s bond operations.

At the same time, Japan’s December 2025 trade balance posted a surplus of 105.7 billion Japanese yen ($665.4 million), below estimates.

Following these changes, the Nikkei 225 rose 2.1% and the Kospi 1.7%, while the Hang Seng Index fell 0.1% and the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.1% near the close.

In Türkiye, all eyes turned to the monetary policy decision of the country’s Central Bank to be released on Thursday.