Stock futures pointed to big losses on Wall Street on Tuesday after President Donald Trump intensified his rhetoric on Greenland, threatening to impose new tariffs on countries opposing the sale of the Danish territory to the United States.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slumped 660 points, or 1.3%, to 48,887.
Futures for the S&P 500 wobbled 101.25 points, or 1.5%, at 6,875.50.
The S&P 500's projected loss would be the biggest drop for the benchmark in two months.
Futures for the NASDAQ stumbled 448.75 points, or 1.8%, to 25,240.25.
Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Saturday that eight NATO members’ U.S. imports will face escalating tariffs “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.” The tariffs will start at 10% on Feb. 1 and rise to 25% on June 1, Trump said.
Trump then threatened to slap 200% tariffs on French wines and champagne, amid reports that the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, is unwilling to join his so-called Board of Peace.
Trump also hit out at the U.K., labeling the British government’s plan to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands — one of which is the site of a U.K.-U.S. military base — to Mauritius as an “act of great stupidity.”
He said the move was “another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.”
European leaders have described Trump’s fresh tariff threats as “unacceptable,” and are reportedly considering countermeasures — with France said to be pushing for the European Union to use its strongest economic counter-threat, known as the “Anti-Coercion Instrument.”
Trump, who is due to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, said he had agreed to speak with European leaders at the conference to discuss his Greenland ambitions.
In the United States, markets were shuttered Monday for Martin Luther King Day.
This week, quarterly financial results are expected from a range of companies, including Netflix, Charles Schwab, Johnson & Johnson and Intel. Guidance from companies this year is crucial to sustain bullish sentiment for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 is already expected to post earnings growth of 12% to 15%.
Internationally, markets in Japan dived 1.1% Tuesday, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong descended 0.1%.
Oil prices climbed 62 cents to $60.06 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices popped $136.60 at $4,732.60 U.S. per ounce.
