U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from the media during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 20, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee | Getty Images
Markets on Tuesday showed classic signs of a “Sell America” trade as investors balked at rising risks related to Washington’s foreign policy.
Major U.S. indexes fell for their worst day since October, S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite It will enter negative territory in 2026. Volatility soars, VIX indexWall Street’s “Fear Gauge” soared to an all-time high of 20.99. Meanwhile, bond yields soared us dollar index Fall down gold Prices set new records.
The moves reflect concerns raised by Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, who warned that rising tensions could spill over into capital markets.
Dalio said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive moves to annex Greenland could cause foreign governments and investors to reconsider their appetite for U.S. assets.
“Behind every trade deficit and trade war, there are capital wars and capital wars,” Dalio told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
One early signal came from Denmark. Pension fund Academia Carpension announced it would sell about $100 million in U.S. bonds.
The fund’s investment director, Anders Schelde, said the decision was due to concerns about “the poor state of (US) government finances” and “is not directly related to the ongoing rift between (US) and Europe”, but added that recent tensions between the US and Europe “do not make it difficult to make a decision”.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials took a defiant stance. “America is back. This is what American leadership looks like,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in Davos. Bessent made the comments before markets closed on Tuesday.
The international community’s reaction to President Trump’s move has not been well received. Greenlanders are “embarrassed” by the US president, the Arctic island’s commerce minister told CNBC on Tuesday, while French President Emmanuel Macron denounced “bullying” and “atrocities”, without providing details, while calling for the removal of U.S. tariffs on Europe.
But amid the turmoil of recent days, President Trump shows no signs of backing down.
“As you know, we’re leaving Davos tonight, and we have a number of meetings scheduled in Greenland,” Trump said on Tuesday. “I think things are going to go pretty well.”
Trump may be right. The more immediate question confounding the market is: For whom will it work?
What you need to know today
US markets fall due to concerns over Greenland. The S&P 500 fell 2.06%; Dow Jones Industrial Average The index fell 1.76%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.39%. All three indexes had their worst trading since October. pan-european Stocks 600 It decreased by 0.7%.
Danish pension fund to sell government bonds. Academic Car Pension announced it would exit its position of about $100 million in U.S. Treasuries, citing financial concerns. Meanwhile, Greenlanders are “confused” by President Trump’s “catastrophic” plan to annex the Arctic island, the country’s economy minister told CNBC.
India signs $3 billion LNG deal with UAE. The agreement will make New Delhi the UAE’s largest liquefied natural gas customer. India also announced on Monday plans to double bilateral trade with the UAE to $200 billion by 2032.
Netflix recorded a small profit. Fourth-quarter earnings per share were 56 cents, 1 cent higher than expected, and revenue was $12.05 billion, compared with expectations of $11.97 billion. early Tuesday morning, Netflix fixed that warner bros discovery Offer all cash bid.
(PRO) It is doubtful whether Greenland’s decline will continue. Wall Street analysts said that while President Trump’s “weaponization of tariffs” was surprising, it could ultimately calm tensions.
