CNBC Daily Open: Investors flee from the U.S. as Trump doubles down on Greenland

Markets connected Tuesday flashed the classical signs of a "sell America" trade, arsenic investors recoiled from escalating risks tied to Washington's overseas policy.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen drove location the constituent erstwhile helium said precocious Tuesday that "the different side" — seemingly alluding to the U.S. — has not ruled retired the usage of subject force to instrumentality power of the island.

Major U.S. indexes connected Tuesday stateside tumbled successful their worst time since October, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite into antagonistic territory for 2026. Volatility climbed, with the VIX index, Wall Street's "fear gauge," spiking to a precocious of 20.99. Meanwhile, enslaved yields jumped, the U.S. Dollar Index fell and gold prices deed caller records.

Those moves reflected concerns raised by Ray Dalio, laminitis of Bridgewater Associates, who warned that mounting tensions could spill into superior markets.

Dalio said Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's assertive moves toward annexing Greenland could punctual overseas governments and investors to reconsider their appetite for U.S. assets.

"On the different broadside of commercialized deficits and commercialized wars, determination are superior and superior wars," Dalio told CNBC's "Squawk Box" astatine the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

One aboriginal awesome emerged from Denmark. Pension money AkademikerPension said it volition sell astir $100 million successful U.S. Treasurys.

The determination was driven by concerns implicit "poor [U.S.] authorities finances" and "not straight related to the ongoing rift betwixt the [U.S.] and Europe," said Anders Schelde, the fund's investing chief, though helium added that caller tensions betwixt the U.S. and Europe "didn't marque it much hard to instrumentality the decision."

U.S. officials, for their part, struck a defiant tone. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC astatine Davos that "the U.S. is back, and this is what U.S. enactment looks like." Bessent made those comments earlier markets closed Tuesday.

International absorption to Trump's moves has been acold little receptive. Greenlanders are "bewildered" by the U.S. president, the arctic island's concern curate told CNBC connected Tuesday, portion French President Emmanuel Macron hit retired astatine "bullies" and "brutality" — without giving specifics — arsenic helium called for U.S. tariffs connected Europe to beryllium abolished.

But, amid the furor successful caller days, Trump doesn't look to beryllium backing down.

 "I'm leaving tonight, arsenic you know, Davos, and we person a batch of meetings scheduled connected Greenland," Trump said Tuesday. "I deliberation things are going to enactment retired beauteous well."

Trump whitethorn beryllium right. The much contiguous question rattling markets is: enactment retired beauteous good for whom?

Be prepared for 'everything': Greenland PM. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the island's premier minister, said Tuesday that it is "not apt that determination volition beryllium a usage of subject force, but it has not been ruled retired yet" by the U.S. 

U.S. markets slump connected Greenland jitters. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 tumbled 2.06%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.76% and the Nasdaq Composite mislaid 2.39%. Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Wednesday, portion spot golden prices roseate further to notch a caller record.

UK ostentation successful December hotter than expected. The consumer terms scale roseate to 3.4% for the month, higher than forecasts of 3.3% from economists polled by Reuters. Core ostentation was unchanged from November. The figures rise doubts implicit whether the BOE volition proceed with its expected February complaint cut.

Netflix posts constrictive net beat. Fourth-quarter net per share came successful astatine 56 cents, 1 cent higher than estimated, portion gross was $12.05 cardinal vs. $11.97 cardinal forecasted. Earlier connected Tuesday, Netflix amended its Warner Bros. Discovery connection to an all-cash bid.

[PRO] Doubts that Greenland sell-off volition last. Wall Street analysts said that contempt astonishment implicit Trump's "weaponization of tariffs," tensions could yet cool.