US stocks rose on Thursday as investors breathed a sigh of relief that President Trump has called off his threatened tariffs on European allies over his pursuit of Greenland.

The market's major names led the advance, with a gain of roughly 1% on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and the blue chip-heavy Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI). Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) added roughly 0.8% on the heels of Wall Street's sharp rally Wednesday.

Stocks are climbing after Trump hit pause on the 10% tariffs planned for eight NATO members in February, soothing the concerns that weighed on Wall Street earlier in the week. But investors remain on alert, as the EU and US are still at odds over who will control Greenland.

Trump said he had drawn up a "framework of a future deal" with NATO's leader for the Arctic island, which the US wants to purchase. But Denmark's prime minister stressed Thursday that the sovereignty of its territory is not up for discussion.

Beyond trade and geopolitics, investors are bracing for Intel (INTC) to lead out Big Tech earnings when it reports quarterly results after the bell on Thursday. AI spending by the likes of Meta (META) and a global memory shortage will be in focus as the chipmaker attempts a turnaround. Procter & Gamble (PG) and GE Aerospace (GE) are among the crowd of companies also on the earnings docket.

Elsewhere in tech, Alibaba (BABA) shares popped after Bloomberg reported the Chinese company is planning an IPO for its AI chipmaking unit, T-Head. The debut would tap interest in potential rivals to Nvidia (NVDA), whose CEO Jensen Huang boosted hopes for "trillions of dollars" of AI demand at Davos.

Also ahead is a shutdown-delayed report on the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the PCE price index. The reading for November and October could help set expectations for interest-rate cuts this year, as could updates on weekly jobless claims and third quarter GDP also due later.

Elsewhere on the economic data calendar, the US economy grew at the fastest pace in two years through the third quarter in 2025. GDP grew at an annual pace of 4.4% on the quarter in an upgrade from the government's first estimate.

Even so, unemployment benefits claims ticked up to 200,000 for the week ended Jan. 17, up just slightly from the previous week's 199,000 filings, according to Labor Department data.

US stocks picked up steam on Thursday as investors rallied following President Trump's decision to call off his tariff threats against European countries over his pursuit of Greenland.

The market's biggest players led the advance, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and blue chip-heavy Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) both picked up roughly 1%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) added roughly 0.7% on top of a sharp rally Wednesday.

The stock market reacted positively after Trump announced he was pulling back from his 10% tariff plan for eight NATO members in February, easing worries that had rekindled the \\"Sell America\\" trade.

Beyond trade and geopolitics, investors will be watching for Intel (INTC) to lead out Big Tech earnings after the bell on Thursday and a shutdown-delayed report on the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the PCE price index.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) has extended the deadline on its tender offer for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shares in its bid to acquire the company, according to a proxy document filed on Thursday.

Shares in Paramount jumped by 0.4% in premarket trading on Thursday, while shares in WBD fell by roughly 0.4%.

Paramount's tender offer, originally filed on Dec. 8 to acquire all of WBD's common stock at $30 per share as part of CEO David Ellison's bid to acquire the rival company, was set to expire on Jan. 21. The new deadline for the offer is Feb. 20.

The move marks the latest step in Paramount's months-long bid to acquire WBD, helmed by media titan David Zaslav, and beat out Netflix (NFLX), a saga that has been running since September.

Netflix shares gained roughly 0.5% in premarket trading on Thursday.

While Ted Sarandos's Netflix is seeking to acquire WBD's studios & streaming assets, Paramount is seeking a full buy-out of Zaslav's media company.

Paramount's $30 per share all-cash offer, valued at $108.4 billion, was initially rejected by WBD's board on worries that Paramount did not have the liquidity to fund such a deal. To ease those concerns, Oracle founder and David Ellison's father, Larry Ellison, agreed to personally backstop more than $40 billion in financing for the deal.

Paramount has also sued WBD in an attempt to force Zaslav's company back to the negotiating table.

In the latest twist in the M&A battle that has captivated Wall Street, Netflix revised its offer to an all-cash bid at $27.75 per share — valuing WBD at $82.7 billion — where previously the streaming giant had been offering a cash-and-stock bid.

Abbott (ABT) stock fell 5% before the bell on Thursday after missing Wall Street estimates for quarterly ​revenue, hit by ‌weakness in its diagnostic and nutrition business.

Reuters reports:

Shares ‌of the Illinois-headquartered company fell nearly 4% in premarket trading after it also forecast current-quarter profit below ⁠market expectations.

Shares ‌of the Illinois-headquartered company fell nearly 4% in premarket trading after it also forecast current-quarter profit below ⁠market expectations.

Abbott ‌has already warned its diagnostics division faces a projected $700 ‍million revenue hit in 2025, driven primarily by the steep drop‑off in ​COVID‑19 testing demand and pricing ‌pressure from China's volume‑based procurement program, which buys laboratory equipment and consumables in bulk at substantial discounts.

Read more here.

Natural gas (NG=F) futures have soared, picking up more than 75% over the past five trading sessions to mark the largest five-day gain since at least 1990.

The energy product, trading around $3 per million British thermal unit (MMBtu) at the start of the week, is now changing hands at over $5 per MMBtu.

Weather forecasts are showing a major cold snap set to hit a wide swath of the eastern seaboard this coming weekend, with low temperatures and heavy snow expected across an area stretching from New York City to Dallas.

Overall, the storm is expected to impact more than 150 million people, according to AccuWeather.

\\"We are anticipating a major winter weather event expected to impact much of the US population this weekend, especially the Midwest and East Coast,\\" Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in an X post. \\"Please prepare and take precautions in the event of power outages, pipe-bursts, road closures, airport delays, flight cancellations, and freezing temperatures.\\"

Natural gas is the most common source for heating through the US, responsible for fueling 47% of heating demand, according to the Energy Information Administration. Gas also makes up a significant chunk of electrical generation power. Cold weather, like that predicted to hit New York City and the surrounding area, triggers natural gas demand as people turn on their heaters and backup generators in power outages.

Gas is also susceptible to quick pricing pressure because it can only reliably be moved around the country by pipeline, meaning extra supply cannot be quickly trucked in like oil. The data center boom is also putting increasing pressure on the market as Big Tech developers turn to gas for quick, cheap power, booking pipelines and further tightening supply.

Major US natural gas producers EQT Corporation (EQT) and Antero Resources Corporation (AR) both picked up steam in premarket trading on Thursday after rallies on Wednesday of 6% and 4%, respectively. Major pipeline operator The Williams Companies (WMB) traded down before the market open on Thursday after picking up 2.5% on Wednesday.

Self-driving tech company Mobileye (MBLY) stock fell 6% during premarket trading on Thursday after forecasting annual revenue ​below Wall Street expectations, a sign that slower electric-vehicle production ‌is weighing on demand for its driver assistance technology.

Reuters reports:

U.S. ⁠President Donald ‌Trump's tariffs on the import of vehicles and auto ‍parts have jolted the global automotive industry, forcing several carmakers to abandon forecasts and ​scramble to adjust supply chains ‌to mitigate the impact.

This risk comes as North American carmakers rein in their once‑aggressive electric vehicle push, struggling to keep pace with Chinese ⁠rivals, losing access to ​some tax credits ​and shifting toward more affordable models and hybrids.

Read more here.

Yahoo Finance's Jake Conley reports:

The AI boom triggered a surge in energy demand and infrastructure development throughout 2025. Global leaders gathered at this week's World Economic Forum in Davos expect these same themes to be a major part of the AI story in 2026.

\\"I said, you can't create this much energy. We needed more than double the energy currently in the country just to take care of the AI plants, and I said we can't do that,\\" President Trump said in comments during his speech in Davos Wednesday, during which he repeatedly emphasized the US's commitment to powerful domestic electricity infrastructure.

The administration, Trump said, is intent on making infrastructure development in the US a booming industry to power the country's AI ambitions.

\\"Instead of closing down energy plants, Trump said, \\"we're opening them up.\\"

Read more here.

Shares of Alibaba (BABA, 9988.HK) are popping in premarket after a report that the Chinese tech giant plans an IPO for its chipmaking arm T-Head.

Bloomberg reports:

Alibaba Group Holding is preparing to list its chipmaking arm, tapping strong investor interest in the small circle of companies aspiring to compete with Nvidia (NVDA) in the hot AI accelerator business.

As a first step, Alibaba plans to restructure the unit as a business partly owned by employees, people familiar with the matter said. The company will then explore an initial public offering, though the timing for that remains unclear, the people said, asking to remain anonymous discussing private plans. Alibaba representatives didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

The company is still at the early stages of the process and it’s unclear how much of a valuation T-Head could command. Debuts by rival chipmakers such as Moore Threads Technology (688795.SS) have drawn strong interest, reflecting bets that Beijing will prop up the industry as an alternative to American technology.

Alibaba has long explored chip design, seeking to secure a supply of the crucial components that underpin its data centers and AWS-like cloud services. AI chips are one facet of a broader campaign to become a leading AI company that rivals the likes of OpenAI (OPAI.PVT).

Read more here.

Moderna (MRNA) stock rose 5% before the bell on Thursday after reporting positive skin cancer vaccine trial results.

GameStop (GME) shares rose 3% before the bell after CEO Ryan Cohen increased his stake in the company and decided to close some US stores.

French video game publisher Ubisoft (UBI.PA) saw it' stock fall on Thursday by over 30% after announcing a reorganization and canceling six games. The dour news for the \\"Assassin's Creed\\" video game series could be an indicator on how the wider video game market as a whole is performing and what lies ahead for others.

From Bloomberg:

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its year-end gold (GC=F) price forecast by more than 10%, reflecting growing private-sector diversification into bullion on top of already-strong demand from central banks and exchange-traded funds.

The bank raised its December 2026 price target to $5,400 an ounce, from a prior forecast of $4,900, on the assumption that private investors who have bought gold as a hedge against macro policy risks will maintain these positions through the end of the year, analysts including Daan Struyven and Lina Thomas wrote in a note dated Jan. 21.

Unlike previous hedges tied to specific events, such as the November 2024 US election, positions taken against perceived risks, such as fiscal sustainability, may not fully resolve this year and are therefore “stickier,” the analysts said.

Read more here.

From Bloomberg:

Global semiconductor stocks advanced, as comments by Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang at Davos helped reinforce investor enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence trade.

Memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics (005930.KS, SSNLF) gained as much as 5% Thursday to an all-time high, helping drive South Korea’s benchmark Kospi (^KS11) above 5,000 for the first time. That came after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose more than 3% to a fresh record on Wednesday, with a boost from Nvidia.

The gains came amid broad risk-on trade after US President Donald Trump withdrew his threat of tariffs on some European nations over backing for Greenland. Huang further fueled that rally with his comments to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, saying that the global AI buildout will require trillions of dollars of investment.

“Davos is all about AI Revolution,” Wedbush Securities Inc. analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note. “While there are clearly geopolitical worries in a constantly changing global landscape, the one thing that is clear from Davos is that the US tech world is dominating the AI Revolution, with China a distant second.”

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

Gold (GC=F) fell after US President Donald Trump withdrew a threat to impose tariffs on European nations and said a “framework of a future deal” over Greenland had been agreed.

Bullion fell as much as 1.1% in early trading, pulling back after three days of gains that had taken it to an all-time high above $4,888 an ounce on Wednesday. Trump announced the Greenland “framework” on social media after meeting North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Mark Rutte but gave no further details.

Trump’s brinkmanship over Greenland had sparked a diplomatic crisis with Europe and spooked financial markets, adding to gold’s appeal. Following his comments on Wednesday, the dollar and stocks recovered some losses from earlier in the week. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a key gauge of the US currency’s strength, rose 0.1%.

Gold has gained over 70% in the past year, setting successive records, and its blistering rally has continued in the early weeks of 2026. The upending of the geopolitical order has been accompanied by renewed attacks by the Trump administration on the US Federal Reserve, eroding trust in the dollar and supporting precious metals.

Read more here.