{"id":14122,"date":"2026-01-20T22:09:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T22:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=14122"},"modified":"2026-01-20T22:09:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T22:09:21","slug":"wall-street-sees-worst-day-since-october-after-trump-tariff-threats-stock-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=14122","title":{"rendered":"Wall Street sees worst day since October after Trump tariff threats | Stock markets"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Stock markets fell on both sides of the Atlantic on Tuesday, with Wall Street suffering its worst day since October, as investor concerns persisted over the fallout from Donald Trump\u2019s push for US control of Greenland.<\/p>\n

The sell-off hit US stocks on the first day of trading in New York since Trump threatened new tariffs on eight European countries<\/a>, after the market was closed for a public holiday on Monday. The S&P 500 closed down 2.1% while the Dow Jones finished down 1.8%.<\/p>\n

The tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell 2.4%, with Amazon down 2.9% and Tesla and Nvidia both off more than 3%, wiping billions of dollars off their market values.<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s FTSE 100 index dropped 0.7% on Tuesday, after a smaller fall on Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Europe<\/a>, France\u2019s CAC was down 0.6%, Germany\u2019s DAX fell 1% and Italy\u2019s FTSE MIB was off 1.1%.<\/p>\n

The dollar was down 0.9% against a basket of currencies.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s threat to increase tariffs on US imports of goods from Germany, France, Denmark, the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Finland have renewed economic uncertainty.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Howard Lutnick said Trump uses tariffs as a way to initiate diplomacy.<\/span> Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, Trump\u2019s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, played down the likelihood of a fresh trade war. Speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he gave a bullish defence of US tariff policies but suggested the outcome of what he called the \u201ckerfuffle\u201d over Greenland was be likely to be diplomacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here to make a very clear point: globalisation has failed the west and the United States of America. It\u2019s a failed policy. It is what the west has stood for, which is export, offshore, find the cheapest labour in the world, and the world is a better place for it. The fact is, it has left America behind. It has left American workers behind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lutnick argued that Trump uses tariffs as \u201ca way for him to say: \u2018Hey, you know, you need to talk to us.\u2019 Do I think the trade deals that we\u2019ve set with Europe, with the UK, are they durable? I absolutely do \u2026 What I see happening is diplomacy and talking and at the table, rather than action, which is something I think the president cares about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sitting alongside Lutnick, the UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said the UK was also interested in its economic security \u2013 but said the US should remember who its allies are.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor all of your strengths, we do also need to preserve some of the things that the US has benefited from, in the Nato alliance, and the western alliance, not because it is the benevolent, because I believe it is in your country\u2019s national interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reeves also urged people to keep cool heads as fears mount over Trump\u2019s push for Greenland. \u201cWe absolutely want to de-escalate,\u201d she told Bloomberg. \u201cThe future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump is scheduled to give a speech at Davos on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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Earlier on Tuesday, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, also speaking at Davos, urged European countries not to retaliate against the US\u2019s trade tariffs announced over the Greenland<\/a> crisis.<\/p>\n

Referring to Trump\u2019s \u201cliberation day\u201d tariffs, announced in April, Bessent said: \u201cI would say this is the same kind of hysteria that we heard on 2 April. There was a panic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I am urging everyone here to do is sit back, take a deep breath, and let things play out. The worst thing countries can do is escalate against the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Kathleen Brooks, a research director at the broker XTB, said Bessent had failed to calm investor nerves.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, this is a man-made crisis, and the continued sell-off on Tuesday suggests that US threats to Greenland and their effects on financial markets could have further to go if the situation does not de-escalate soon,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Gold and silver hit record highs as investors sought shelter from the market falls. Gold<\/a> rose past $4,700 (\u00a33,500) an ounce for the first time on Tuesday, and silver hit a fresh high of $95.52 an ounce.<\/p>\n

Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday that eight European countries including the UK, France and Germany, will face tariffs<\/a> \u201cuntil such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland\u201d. The tariffs are due to start at 10% on 1 February, rising to 25% on 1 June.<\/p>\n

Trump also added further uncertainty to global trade overnight by threatening to impose 200% tariffs on French wines and champagne after France\u2019s Emmanuel Macron was reported to be unwilling to join his Gaza \u201cboard of peace\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#Wall #Street #sees #worst #day #October #Trump #tariff #threats #Stock #markets<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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