U.S. stocks edged higher on Friday after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, offering relief to investors after weaker-than-expected economic data dented sentiment earlier in the day.
The U.S. top court ruled against Trump’s global tariffs enacted under a federal law meant for national emergencies. His April 2 “Liberation Day” levies included a baseline duty of 10 per cent on all imports to the United States and specific additional duties of 15 per cent to 50 per cent on most countries, many of which were renegotiated and subsequently lowered.
While stock markets have recovered from the selloff induced by last year’s tariff announcement, companies as well as consumers are still grappling with the fallout from the levies.
Shares of U.S. toymakers Hasbro and Mattel, online furniture retailer Wayfair, Pottery Barn-owner Williams-Sonoma and luxury furniture retailer RH – some of the companies that were hit by the tariffs – climbed after the verdict.
Shares of legacy automaker General Motors recouped some losses and were last down 0.1 per cent, while Ford Motor was last up one per cent.
“Markets are responding with a greater risk appetite for equities because we finally got something resolved,” said Todd Schoenberger, chief investment officer at CrossCheck Management in Washington DC.
“The only question now becomes a rebate issue, so that could have a negative impact on the economy.”
Thousands of companies around the world have filed lawsuits challenging Trump’s sweeping tariffs and sought refunds on the duties they have paid. There is a risk more than USD$175 billion in U.S. tariff collections will need to be refunded, according to Penn-Wharton Budget Model economists.
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At 10:23 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 203.43 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 49,571.90, the S&P 500 gained 30.53 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 6,892.68, and the Nasdaq Composite added 140.10 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 22,822.83.
U.S. stocks felt the heat earlier after data showed U.S. economic growth slowed more than expected in the fourth quarter, while a separate reading indicated inflation picked up in December. Traders largely stuck to bets the Federal Reserve will deliver its next interest-rate cut in June.
Seven of the 11 S&P sectors were trading higher, with communication services leading gains, boosted by a 2.7 per cent rise in Alphabet.
Technology stocks have been pressured in recent months due concerns over high valuations and limited evidence that massive investments in AI were paying off. Sectors ranging from software to real estate were hammered last week by concerns that new AI models could upend their business models.
Private capital firm Blue Owl Capital shed 1.6 per cent after falling 5.9 per cent in the last session, when the company’s latest strategy to return capital from a small debt fund and permanently halt redemptions at one of the funds rattled investors and dragged peers down.
Akamai Technologies slid 9.8 per cent after the cloud company forecast first-quarter adjusted profit below Wall Street estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.69-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.34-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 26 new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 69 new lows.
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