A Greenlandic flag flies over a residential house on Jan. 21, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets rebounded Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street after U.S. President Donald Trump walked back on his threat to impose tariffs on European countries over Greenland.
South Korea’s Kospi led regional gains, rising 1.81% to breach the 5,000 mark. Battery maker Samsung SDI soared 13.27%, while conglomerate Doosan gained 9%, and heavyweight Samsung Electronics climbed 3.14%. The small-cap Kosdaq index gained 1.5%.
The country’s economy unexpectedly shrank 0.3% on a quarterly basis in the October to December period, its sharpest contraction since 2022. Gross domestic product grew 1.5% year on year, while full-year economic growth slowed to 1%, the weakest since 2020, when output contracted 0.7% during the pandemic.
Trump also said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he would not use force to acquire the Arctic island, calming nerves over a possible U.S. military action, adding that he had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland,” along with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.72%, while the broad-based Topix rose 0.97%. Japan saw its December trade figures released today, with the 5.1% export growth missing Reuters-polled analysts’ estimates.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.6% and the CSI 300 index on mainland China climbed 0.67%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.68%, having dropped about 0.4% in the previous session.