- Investor euphoria over another possible tariff freeze dissipated on Thursday. Stocks closed modestly higher, pulled up by Nvidia’s earnings, while bond yields fell.
Investors are losing some of their jumpiness over tariff uncertainty. A rally that started early in the day sparked by a court decision invalidating most of the Trump administration’s tariffs ran out of steam late in the day, just in time for an emergency appeals court ruling allowing Trump to keep collecting the duties, for now.
The S&P 500 gained 0.4%, giving up most of its earlier gains. The Dow rose 0.15% and the Nasdaq gained 0.4%.
Late Thursday, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted an emergency motion from the Trump administration, allowing it to keep collecting tariffs on the argument they are “critical for the country’s national security.” The decision halts a ruling from the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday that found President Trump didn’t have authority to impose most of his tariffs.
For now, “there is still plenty of uncertainty about future tariffs on U.S. imports. So a really big boost to equities may not be on the cards,” wrote John Higgins, chief markets economist at Capital Economics.
Policy analysts have noted that Trump can use other legal avenues to achieve tariffs, and the White House said it plans to appeal the court’s ruling to the Supreme Court, which has allowed Trump wide latitude in his executive actions.
“Investors know this act by heart,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said earlier in a note seen by AP. “The volatility is still there, but like a horror franchise on its fifth sequel, the jump scares are losing their bite.”
Nvidia gained 2.8% after beating Wall Street’s expectations for revenue on Wednesday, pulling the broad index along with it. E.l.f. Beauty gained 23% after acquiring direct-to-consumer makeup company Rhode. C3.ai gained 24% after announcing a major Pentagon contract on Wednesday.