Financial Markets                      01/21 09:30

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. stock market is bouncing back from its worst day 
since October, though some signs of fear remain on Wall Street Wednesday about 
President Donald Trump's desire to take Greenland.

   The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% after Trump said in a speech before business and 
government leaders in Europe that he would not use force to take "the piece of 
ice." The potential de-escalation in rhetoric around Greenland helped the index 
recover some of its 2.1% drop from the day before and pull closer to its 
all-time high set earlier this month.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 353 points, or 0.7%, as of 10:15 
a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% higher.

   Treasury yields also held steadier in the bond market, a day after jumping 
in a potential signal of worries about higher inflation in the long term. They 
got help from a calming of government bond yields in Japan. The value of the 
U.S. dollar was also mixed against the euro, Swiss franc and other currencies 
after sliding the day before.

   But some nerves seemed to remain in the market, and the price of gold rose 
another 2.1% and topped $4,800 per ounce for the first time.

   Trump himself acknowledged how his desire for Greenland led to Tuesday's 
drop in the stock market, but he called it "peanuts compared to what it's gone 
up" in the first year of his second term and said it would go up more in the 
future. While saying he would not use force to take Greenland, he also called 
for "immediate negotiations" for the United States to acquire it from Denmark.

   Helping to lead the U.S. stock market was Halliburton, which rose 3.9% after 
the oilfield services company reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter 
than analysts expected.

   United Airlines climbed 4.2% after likewise reporting a better profit for 
the end of 2025 than expected. CEO Scott Kirby said that the airline's strong 
momentum in revenue is continuing into 2026.

   They helped offset a 2.6% drop for Netflix. The streamer sank even though it 
reported a stronger profit than expected as investors focused instead on a drop 
in its subscriber growth.

   Kraft Heinz sank 4.9% after Berkshire Hathaway warned investors Tuesday that 
it may be interested in selling its 325 million shares in the name brand food 
giant that former CEO Warren Buffett helped create back in 2015.

   Berkshire took a $3.76 billion write-down on its Kraft-Heinz stake last 
summer. Buffett said last fall that he was disappointed in Kraft Heinz' plan to 
split the company in two, and Berkshire's two representatives resigned from the 
Kraft board last spring.

   In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.28% from 
4.30% late Tuesday. But it's still well above the 4.24% level where it was at 
on Friday, before Trump said he will impose 10% tariffs on Denmark, Norway, 
Sweden, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland 
beginning in February. That would be on top of a 15% tariff specified by a 
trade agreement with the European Union that has yet to be ratified.

   Natural gas futures rose more than 8% in anticipation of demand for more 
heating as a cold snap and brutal storms hit large swaths of the United States.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in mostly modest movements 
across Europe and Asia.

   Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4%.

   The country's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has called a snap election for 
Feb. 8, which sent yields of long-term government bonds to record levels. The 
expectation is that Takaichi, who is capitalizing on strong public support 
ratings, will cut taxes and boost spending, adding to the challenges Japan 
faces in handling its massive government debt.

   The yield on the 40-year Japanese government bond pulled back to 4.05% 
Wednesday, down from 4.22% level that it surged to on Tuesday.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed.

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