Markets finally got the one thing they wanted from the Greenland saga: de-escalation.
In a speech at Davos, President Trump said he will not use force to acquire Greenland, pushing stocks higher at the open after futures had been in the red earlier in the morning.
“We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force… but I won’t do that,” Trump said. “People thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
What he actually signaled
Trump made it clear Denmark could reject the idea without military consequences, but he still framed the push as pressure-based diplomacy.
“They have a choice. You can say yes… Or you can say no and we will remember.”
So the “Greenland risk” didn’t disappear, but the worst-case tail risk got taken off the table.
Market reaction
Stocks jumped right at the open:
S&P 500 up about 0.3%
Futures flipped higher after being down earlier Wednesday
Simple setup: traders were pricing in escalation risk, and Trump basically gave them an off-ramp.