Coca-Cola Company (KO) and Procter & Gamble (PG) outperformed on Tuesday amid a broad market decline tied to President Donald Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs on European nations opposing the sale of Greenland to the United States. U.S. Treasury yields spiked, and the U.S. dollar fell as part of a flight to quality that also drew investors into defensive favorites Coca-Cola (KO) and Procter & Gamble (PG).
Coca-Cola (KO) closed with a 1.9% gain, while Procter & Gamble (PG) pushed 1.7% higher as the two consumer staples stocks stood on a day that 27 of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average constituents were down for the session. Procter & Gamble (PG) is due to report earnings on Thursday, while Coca-Cola (KO) steps into the earnings confessional during the second week of February.
Looking ahead, there is not expected to be a dramatic improvement in U.S.-European trade relations during the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, although analysts have pointed to the one-year track record of tariff threats being reeled in by President Trump within weeks and months of the initial threats as negotiations spin on.