Stocks Settle Sharply Higher as President Trump Claims Deal on Greenland

Natural Gas Industry - Natural gas prices surged over +24% to a 6-week high, following a +26% increase the previous day, driven by an Arctic cold front expected to raise heating demand and disrupt US production [1][17] Gold Market - Gold prices increased by another 1%, reaching a new record high amid the Greenland crisis and concerns over Japan's fiscal policies leading to higher deficits, which are driving demand for gold as a safe-haven asset [2] Stock Market Performance - Stock indexes rebounded sharply, recovering over half of the previous day's losses after President Trump announced a framework for a deal regarding Greenland and refrained from imposing tariffs on European nations [4][5] - The S&P 500 Index closed up +1.16%, the Dow Jones up +1.21%, and the Nasdaq 100 up +1.36% [5] Mortgage Applications and Housing Market - US MBA mortgage applications rose by +14.1%, with the purchase mortgage sub-index up +5.1% and refinancing up +20.4% [6] - Pending home sales in December fell by -9.3% month-over-month, marking the largest decline in 5.5 years, while construction spending in October rose by +0.5% month-over-month [6] Earnings Season - The Q4 earnings season has been positive, with 81% of the 38 S&P 500 companies that reported beating expectations, and S&P earnings growth is projected to increase by +8.4% in Q4 [8] Interest Rates and Treasury Notes - The 10-year T-note yield fell by -4 bp to 4.25%, supported by lower bond yields and strong demand for a $13 billion auction of 20-year T-bonds [11] - Rising inflation expectations limited gains in T-notes, with the 10-year breakeven inflation rate reaching a 3.25-month high of 2.358% [12] Company-Specific Movements - Chip makers saw significant gains, with Intel closing up more than +11% and AMD up more than +7%, contributing to the overall market rally [16] - Progressive Software's stock rose over +10% after forecasting stronger-than-expected full-year adjusted EPS [18] - Citizens Financial Group's stock increased by more than +6% after reporting total deposits above consensus expectations [19]