Financial Markets                      01/20 09:32

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks slumped in morning trading on Wall Street Tuesday 
after President Donald Trump threatened to hit eight NATO members with new 
tariffs as tensions escalate over his attempts to assert American control over 
Greenland.

   The S&P 500 fell 1.5%, pulling back further from the record it set early 
last week. It was the first time U.S. markets could react to the escalation 
from Trump, as they were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 682 points, or 1.5%, as of 10:04 a.m. 
Eastern. The Nasdaq composite slumped 1.7%.

   The losses were widespread and led by technology stocks, many of which 
already have more influence over the direction of the market because of 
outsized values. Retailers, banks and industrial companies also fell sharply.

   Nvidia, one of the most valuable companies in the world, plunged 3.2%. 
Amazon fell 2.7%, JPMorgan Chase fell 1.9%, and Caterpillar lost 1.3%.

   The broader energy sector eked out gains as the price of U.S. crude oil rose 
1.5%. Exxon Mobil rose 1.5%.

   European markets and markets in Asia fell.

   Trump said Saturday that he would charge a 10% import tax starting in 
February on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United 
Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland. The annual combined imports from European 
Union nations are greater than those from the top two biggest individual 
importers into the U.S., Mexico and China.

   Gold prices surged 3.2% and silver prices soared 7%. Both reached for 
records. Such assets are often considered safe havens in times of geopolitical 
turmoil.

   Treasury yields were mixed in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year 
Treasury rose to 4.28% from 4.23% late Friday. The yield on the two-year 
Treasury fell to 3.59% from 3.60% late Friday.

   Trump linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year's decision not 
to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Norway's prime minister that he no 
longer felt "an obligation to think purely of Peace," in a text message 
released Monday.

   Trump's message to Jonas Gahr Store appeared to ratchet up a standoff 
between Washington and its closest allies over his threats to take over 
Greenland, a self-governing territory of NATO member Denmark.

   Trump's threats have sparked outrage and a flurry of diplomatic activity 
across Europe, as leaders consider possible countermeasures, including 
retaliatory tariffs and the first-ever use of the European Union's 
anti-coercion instrument.

   ___

   AP Business Writers By Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

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