A Greenlandic flag flies over a residential house on Jan. 21, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images
Markets in Asia rebounded after U.S. President Donald Trump walked back on his threat to impose tariffs on European countries over Greenland.
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.
The Kospi was last up 0.87%, and briefly broke the 5,000 mark before falling to 4,952.53, while the small-cap Kosdaq index gained 2% to end at 970.35.
Battery maker Samsung SDI soared 18.67%, while conglomerate Doosan gained 9.09%, and heavyweight Samsung Electronics climbed 1.87%.
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.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.73% and ended at 53,688.89, snapping its five-day losing streak, while the broad-based Topix rose 0.74% to 3,616.38.
Japan saw its December trade figures released today, with the 5.1% export growth missing Reuters-polled analysts’ estimates.
Chinese markets saw softer gains, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbing marginally in its final hour and the CSI 300 index on mainland China climbing 0.01% to 4,723.71.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.75% and finished at 8,848.7, after falling in the previous session.
