US futures decline and gold hits another record as markets steady ahead of Trump's speech at Davos

Global markets mostly declined Wednesday while trading on Wall Street stabilized somewhat ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each ticked down 0.1% before the bell, while Nasdaq futures retreated 0.3%. All three indices are coming off steep losses from a day earlier after Trump threatened to slap higher tariffs on eight European countries over their opposition to his push for U.S. control of Greenland.

Gold prices crossed the $4,800 mark for the first time, gaining 2.2% to $4,873 per ounce as money flowed into assets considered to be safe havens at times of uncertainty.

Trump's plane landed in Switzerland following hours of delay after a minor electrical issue aboard Air Force One forced a return to Washington to switch aircraft.

Trump told reporters he planned to highlight his administration’s accomplishments during his speech later Wednesday to world leaders, elites and billionaires gathered in Davos.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who spoke on a panel on Tuesday, said the U.S. message was that “globalization has failed.”

Trump has said he will impose 10% tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland beginning in February. That would be on top of a 15% tariff specified by a trade agreement with the European Union that has yet to be ratified.

European leaders have hit back as Washington’s relations with its Western allies sour, considering countermeasures, including perhaps slow-walking ratification of the trade agreement or ordering retaliatory tariffs, analysts say.

In equities markets, Netflix tumbled 7.2% after the streaming service reported slowing subscriber growth last year, underscoring the importance of its contested $72 billion bid to take over Warner Bros.’ movie studio and HBO Max.

Netflix topped Wall Street's fourth-quarter sales and profit forecasts, but the company's subscriber growth fell to 23 million in 2025, down from a gain of 41 million in 2024.

Kraft-Heinz tumbled 5.5% after Berkshire Hathaway warned investors Tuesday that it may be interested in selling its 325 million shares in the name brand food giant that former CEO Warren Buffett helped create back in 2015.

Berkshire took a $3.76 billion write-down on its Kraft-Heinz stake last summer. Buffett said last fall that he was disappointed in Kraft Heinz’ plan to split the company in two, and Berkshire’s two representatives resigned from the Kraft board last spring.

In energy markets, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 71 cents to $59.65 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 88 cents to $64.04 per barrel.

Natural gas futures are up more than 8% Wednesday and have soared 30% in less than a week as a cold snap and brutal storms hit large swaths of the U.S.

At midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX shed 1% while the CAC 40 in Paris and Britain’s FTSE 100 each dipped 0.3%.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% to 52,774.64. Markets in Japan have been riled both by geopolitical uncertainty and by domestic issues.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has called a snap election for Feb. 8, sending yields of long-term government bonds to record levels. The assumption is that Takaichi, who is capitalizing on strong public support ratings to try to consolidate a majority for her Liberal Democratic Party, will cut taxes and boost spending, adding to the challenges Japan faces in handling its massive government debt.