Gold jumped to a record high as Asia-Pacific markets slid Wednesday, with investors seeking safe havens after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on countries resisting the transfer of Greenland to the United States. Spot gold prices rose over 1% to an all-time high of $4,813 per ounce. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.12% lower, while the mainland’s CSI 300 inched 0.11% higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.28%, while the Topix declined 1.09%. South Korea’s Kospi was 1.09% lower while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 2.2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.34%. Trump said Saturday that exports from eight European countries would face tariffs of 10% from Feb. 1, rising to 25% by June 1 if talks fail to deliver U.S. control of mineral-rich Greenland.
U.S. equities suffered big losses Tuesday after President Donald Trump intensified his rhetoric on Greenland, threatening to impose new tariffs on countries opposing the sale of the Danish territory to the United States. U.S. Treasury yields spiked and the U.S. dollar declined as Trump’s threat caused a flight from U.S. assets. Danish pension operator AkademikerPension said Tuesday that it is exiting U.S. Treasurys because of finance concerns over U.S. debt. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 870.74 points, or 1.76%, to end the session at 48,488.59. The S&P 500 dipped 2.06% to settle at 6,796.86. The Nasdaq Composite slid 2.39%, closing at 22,954.32. It was the worst session since October for all three major averages.
Gold extended its bullish run above $4,800 per ounce on Wednesday, setting a fresh record, as escalating tensions over Greenland boosted demand for safe-haven assets. President Donald Trump, attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, remained firm on his plan to acquire the Arctic island. Greenland’s prime minister urged citizens to prepare for a potential military move, though he called it unlikely. The tensions follow Trump’s threat to impose an additional 10% import tariff on several European nations from February 1, potentially rising to 25% in June unless a deal on the island is reached. Adding to the metal’s haven appeal, a meltdown in Japanese government bonds has heightened concerns about the fiscal health of major economies, fuelling the “debasement trade” as investors shun currencies and sovereign debt.
WTI crude oil futures dropped more than 1% to around $59.5 per barrel on Wednesday, giving back gains from the previous session, weighed down by geopolitical tensions and anticipated inventory builds. President Trump said there is “no going back” on his Greenland ambitions, with earlier threats of new European tariffs raising concerns about slower economic growth. Meanwhile, US crude and gasoline inventories were expected to rise last week, while distillate stockpiles were seen falling ahead of the EIA data.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said late Tuesday the island and its people should be prepared for “everything,” not ruling out a U.S. military action as President Donald Trump doubles down on taking control of the semi-autonomous Arctic island, part of Denmark. Speaking at a news conference, Nielsen said that while the scenario was unlikely, Greenland has to be prepared as “the other side” has not ruled out the use of military force, in an apparent reference to the United States. “It is not likely that there will be a use of military force, but it has not been ruled out yet. This leader from the other side has made it very clear that it is not ruled out. And therefore, we must of course be prepared for everything,” he said, according to a Google translation of his remarks.
India said it plans to double bilateral trade with the UAE to $200 billion by 2032, in a step toward diversifying its partnerships as a deal with the Asian country’s biggest trading partner, the U.S., remains elusive. In a whirlwind, three-hour long meeting late Monday between UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, both countries’ state-owned companies signed a 10-year liquefied natural gas supply agreement. Under the deal, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government, will supply LNG worth up to $3 billion for a period of 10 years, starting 2028, to India’s state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. With this deal, India is now UAE’s largest customer of LNG and will account for 20% of sales by 2029, ADNOC said in a release.
French President Emmanuel Macron has hit out at “bullies” as he called for U.S. tariffs on European countries to be abolished. Macron made the comments in a strongly-worded address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, which followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to put 200% levies on French wines, as punishment for resisting U.S. attempts to annex Greenland. Without mentioning Trump by name, Macron said: “We need more growth. We need more stability in this world, but we do prefer respect to bullies.” He added: “We do prefer rule of law to brutality.” The French president also confirmed one possible response was using the Anti-Coercion Instrument or ACI.
European states are reportedly considering retaliatory tariffs and broader punitive economic counter-measures against the U.S. after President Donald Trump threatened fresh export levies, deepening a rift over Greenland. Trump announced Saturday that eight European countries would face increasing tariffs, starting at 10% on Feb. 1 and rising to 25% on June 1, if a deal is not reached allowing Washington to acquire Greenland, the mineral-rich island which is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. The proposed tariffs would target Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K, the Netherlands and Finland. The duties would come on top of existing export tariffs to the U.S., currently standing at 10% for the U.K. and 15% for the EU. Regional diplomats held an emergency meeting in Brussels on Sunday afternoon to discuss their response to Trump’s threat to escalate tariffs, with France reportedly pushing for the EU to use its strongest economic counter-threat to the U.S., known as the “Anti-Coercion Instrument” (ACI).
Netflix said on Tuesday it had reached 325 million global paid subscribers, a new milestone for the streaming giant that last reported membership numbers a year ago. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that narrowly beat Wall Street estimates. Here’s how Netflix performed for the period ended Dec. 31, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG. et income for the fourth quarter was $2.42 billion, or 56 cents per share, up from $1.87 billion, or 43 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier. Netflix said revenue during the period rose 18% year over year, driven by membership growth, higher subscription pricing and increased advertising revenue. In recent years Netflix has been focused on growing its ad-supported membership tier. Netflix launched its ad-supported option in late 2022. On Tuesday, it said 2025 ad revenue grew by more than 2.5-times from 2024 to over $1.5 billion.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang plans to travel to China in late January as he seeks to reopen a critical market for the company’s artificial intelligence chips, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. Huang is expected to attend company events ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in February, and may also visit Beijing, according to the report. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Nvidia declined to comment. It is unclear whether Huang will meet senior Chinese officials, and his plans could still change depending on whether prospective meetings are confirmed, the report said. This comes after last week, the Trump administration formally approved sales of Nvidia’s second-most powerful H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, a move expected to pave the way for shipments despite concerns from China hawks in Washington.
OpenAI unveiled a Stargate Community plan on Tuesday, aimed at "paying its way on energy" and ensuring that its operations do not raise electricity costs for local communities. Stargate is a $500 billion, multi-year initiative to build AI data centers for training and inference, backed by major investors including Oracle. U.S. President Donald Trump supported the initiative when it was first announced in January 2025. As energy access becomes a key constraint on AI growth, several tech companies are investing directly in power infrastructure to support larger and more numerous data centers. Each Stargate site will now have its own locally tailored community plan, "driven by community input and local concerns," OpenAI said.
Sportswear giant Nike said on Tuesday it had appointed new leaders for its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Greater China as well as Asia Pacific and Latin America regions, as it works to rebuild momentum in key international markets. The changes reshape Nike’s regional leadership at a time when the company is working to revive growth, sharpen its products and rebuild momentum in key markets such as China, where demand has been uneven. The company said César Garcia will become vice president and general manager for EMEA, effective February 2. He will succeed Carl Grebert, who is retiring after nearly 30 years at the company. In Greater China, Nike said long-time executive Angela Dong will leave the company, effective March 31. She will be succeeded by Cathy Sparks, a 25-year Nike veteran.