Young people holding placards that read “Greenland is not for sale!” On January 17, 2026, nearly one-third of the city’s population took part in a demonstration in Nuuk, Greenland, near the U.S. Consulate General in Greenland, to protest the U.S. President’s plans to occupy Greenland.
Alessandro Rampazzo AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – European stock markets opened sharply lower on Monday as traders reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on European countries if they oppose his proposed purchase of Greenland.
pan-european Stocks 600 Just before 8:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. ET) in London, the index was down about 0.8%, with all sectors in negative territory.
The morning market drop came after President Trump announced on Saturday that eight European allies could raise tariffs by 10% starting February 1 and up to 25% by June 1 if the US fails to reach a deal to “buy” the semi-autonomous territory of Greenland, which is part of Denmark.
President Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday that products from eight NATO countries going to the United States will face increased tariffs “until we reach an agreement on the full and comprehensive purchase of Greenland.”
President Trump said the proposed tariffs would target Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland. European leaders called the tariffs “unacceptable” and vowed to support Denmark.
European automakers and the luxury goods sector were hit hard in early trading as investors reacted to proposed tariffs.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Auto Components Index fell 2.2% in early trading. volkswagen While the decline was approximately 3.3%, porsche down 3.7%, BMW We lost 6.6%.
On the other hand, some of the continent’s luxury brands, LVMH down 3.6%, kering down 2.9%, hermes down 3.3%; moncler It was down 1.8%. Overall, the Stoxx Europe Luxury 10 fell 2.9%.
By contrast, European defense stocks rose. line metalLenk, the continent’s largest defense company, rose 1.4%, while German peer Lenk, the French high-tech and aerospace giant, rose almost 3.6%. Thales Add 2.6%.
In other places, ASM International Shares rose 1.8% after the Dutch computer chip maker reported higher-than-expected preliminary bookings for the quarter at around 800 million euros ($930 million), boosted by a rebound in orders from China and higher-than-expected 669 million euros. Provisional revenue, on the other hand, was 698 million euros, higher than expected in the LSEG poll.
share in ASMLMeanwhile, the stock fell 2.8% in early trading on Monday. The Dutch semiconductor equipment maker fell after hitting a record high last week.
Markets are also keeping an eye on the World Economic Forum, which opens this week in Davos, Switzerland. Trump is scheduled to address the forum on Wednesday.
There are no big financial results this week, but on the data side, inflation data for the euro area will be released.
