
Geopolitical Risk Keeps All Eyes on Davos
Thomas White
Co-HostU.S. stock futures are higher in premarket trading and extending yesterday’s rally after easing geopolitical fears sparked optimism.
U.S. stock averages jumped Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he would no longer impose his new Europe tariffs that were set to begin Feb. 1 and announced reaching a deal “framework” over Greenland.
Trump, who has been relentlessly pushing for U.S. control of Greenland, said Wednesday on Truth Social that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.”
Investor focus will remain on headlines out of Davos along with economic data and earnings. Weekly Jobless Claims are due along with a delayed reading on PCE Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.
Snapshot (as of 7 AM ET)
- Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are down over 1.5% near $59.60 a barrel, reversing the previous sessions’ gains, after U.S. President Donald Trump softened threats against Greenland and Iran, and as investors assessed the supply and demand outlook.
- Gold (/GC) – Gold Futures are down 0.1% near $4830, pausing a three-session rally to record highs, as easing tensions over Greenland boosted risky assets, with bullion further pressured by fading expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts in the near term.
- Bitcoin (/BTC) – The Crypto Future is down 0.2% near 90,000 in premarket trading.
- VIX – The CBOE Volatility Index was down 15.9% on Wednesday and settled at 16.90 as stocks rallied.
- U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is flat at 98.5.
Biggest Premarket Movers (as of 7 AM ET - Mark % Change)
- Moderna (MRNA): +5.20%
- Western Digital (WDC): +2.94%
- Datadog (DDOG): +2.62%
- On Semiconductor (ON): +2.33%
- Micron (MU): +2.14%
- McCormick & Co. (MKC): -5.35%
- Abbott Labs (ABT): -5.08%
- Diamondback Energy (FANG): -1.14%
- APA Corp. (APA): -0.98%
- Exxon Mobil (XOM): -0.94%
Economic Data
- 8:30 AM ET: GDP - Final 3Q (Delayed), Jobless Claims
- 10:00 AM ET: Personal Income & Outlays (Delayed)
- 10:30 AM ET: Natural Gas Inventories
- 12:00 PM ET: Oil Inventories
Notable Earnings
- Premarket: ABT, FCX, GE, HBAN, MKC, MBLY, PG
- Postmarket: ALK, AA, COF, CSX, INTC, ISRG, SLM
- Premarket Tomorrow: BAH, ERIC, SLB
- Postmarket Tomorrow: None
Upgrades/Downgrades
- Raymond James upgrades Alphabet (GOOGL) to Strong Buy from Outperform
- Stifel upgrades Datadog (DDOG) to Buy from Hold
- BNP Paribas upgrades Texas Instruments (TXN) to Neutral from Underperform
- Grupo Santander downgrades ASML (ASML) to Underperform from Outperform
- KeyBanc downgrades Crocs (CROX) to Sector Weight from Overweight
- Evercore ISI downgrades Hyatt (H) to In Line from Outperform
