Markets rebound, Prysmian soars on trade de-escalation - Jan 22, 2026

As of January 22, today’s news features easing geopolitical tensions in Europe and a notable executive shift in the cables sector. European stocks rose for the first time in five sessions, after Donald Trump dropped his threat of new Greenland-linked tariffs, lifting trade-exposed names. Prysmian stood out among industrials, jumping around 3% to a record closing level, alongside gains in Siemens and Schneider Electric, while defense stocks lagged on the geopolitical de-escalation. Meanwhile, Pérez Mackenna has informed Nexans that he has accepted an invitation to join government of Republic of Chile as Minister of foreign affairs. Turning to market updates, copper prices have remained largely stable amidst rising inventories in U.S. warehouses, which surpassed 500,000 metric tons for the first time, reflecting ongoing tariff concerns. Meanwhile, the London Metal Exchange saw a slight increase, with benchmark prices ticking up to 12,811 dollars per ton. Analysts at Sucden Financial indicated that the rising inventory levels may be easing the copper market from previously tight conditions. In nuclear energy news, Tokyo Electric Power Company has announced the shutdown of the No. 6 reactor at the world’s largest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, due to a malfunction detected shortly after it was brought back online following a 13-year hiatus. The reactor will remain offline while TEPCO investigates the cause of the malfunction. In the telecommunications arena, French giants Orange, Bouygues Telecom, and Iliad’s Free are reportedly engaged in discussions to purchase a significant portion of Altice Group's telecommunications activities in France. This comes after a previous bid for Altice's assets, estimated at 17 billion euros, was rejected. Analysts speculate that a successful acquisition could consolidate the fragmented European telecom market and enhance competition. Looking at broader macro trends, predictions indicate that wind and solar power will surpass fossil fuels in the European Union’s power generation mix by 2025, driven by a robust increase in solar output. Wind and solar generated a record 30% of the EU’s power last year, overtaking fossil fuels which contributed 29%. Furthermore, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has called for a substantial increase in global oil production at the World Economic Forum in Davos, emphasizing the ongoing reliance on fossil fuels despite the growing focus on energy transition. This statement aligns with recent discussions on balancing energy strategies. Finally, President Donald Trump said his message to Russian leader Vladimir Putin was that the war in Ukraine has to end, after what he said were "good" talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Davos today.