Trump Tariff Block By Federal Court May Generate Early Buying Interest

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside after ending yesterday's choppy trading session mostly lower.

Early buying interest is likely to be generated in reaction to news that a federal court blocked President Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" on imports from U.S. trade partners from going into effect.

The Court Of International Trade ruled Trump overstepped his authority to impose the tariffs by invoking emergency economic powers.

"The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs," the three-judge panel wrote.

The judges also said tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China related to drug trafficking "fail because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders."

The Trump administration immediately appealed the ruling, which could end up being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

A positive reaction to earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA) may also contribute to initial strength on Wall Street, with the AI darling surging by 5.3 percent in pre-market trading.

The jump by shares of Nvidia comes after the company reported fiscal first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

After showing a lack of direction throughout much of the session, stocks moved to the downside in the latter part of the trading day on Wednesday.

The major averages all moved lower late in the day partly offsetting the strong gains posted in the previous session.

The Dow declined 244.95 points or 0.6 percent to 42,098.70, the Nasdaq fell 98.23 points or 0.5 percent to 19,100.94 and the S&P 500 slid 32.99 points or 0.6 percent to 5,888.55.

The choppy trading seen for most of the day came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of earnings news from Nvidia.

Lingering uncertainty about President Donald Trump's trade policies may also have kept some traders on the sidelines following recent volatility.

Trump's threat to impose 50 percent tariffs on imports from the European Union triggered a steep drop by stocks last Friday only for his decision to delay the proposed tariffs to spark the rally on Tuesday.

Housing stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 2.4 percent.

Considerable weakness also emerged among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones Utility Average.

Steel, oil producer and transportation stocks also moved to the downside, while gold stocks moved higher despite a modest decrease by the price of the precious metal.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are inching up $0.10 to $61.94 a barrel after jumping $0.95 to $61.84 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after slipping $5.50 to $3,294.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $15.40 to $3,310.30 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 144.55 yen versus the 144.84 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1326 compared to yesterday's $1.1292.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Thursday, with tech stocks surging as Nvidia posted first-quarter earnings and revenue ahead of estimates, helping ease fears of a China slowdown.

Sentiment was also underpinned after a U.S. trade court blocked President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" import tariffs from going into effect, ruling that he did not have "unbounded authority" to tax imports from nearly every country.

The decision by the Manhattan-based three-judge Court of International Trade boosted risk appetite and weakened demand for safe-haven assets, with the Japanese yen falling as low as 146.26 against the greenback and gold dropping to $3,280 per ounce in Asian trading. Oil pushed higher alongside equity markets as tariff concerns eased.

China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.70 percent to 3,363.45 despite reports that the U.S. government has imposed new export restrictions on a range of goods shipped to China. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.4 percent to close at 23,573.38.

Japanese markets reached their highest level in more than two weeks as a weaker yen lifted exporters and chip-related shares surged on upbeat Nvidia's first-quarter results.

The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.9 percent to 38,432.98, making its highest close since May 13. The broader Topix Index settled 1.5 percent higher at 2,812.02.

Automakers Toyota Motor, Honda, Hino Motors and Nissan surged 4-6 percent. In the tech sector, Advantest soared 5.4 percent and Tokyo Electron added 4.3 percent. Cable maker Fujikura, a gauge for AI investments, climbed 5.5 percent.

Seoul stocks rallied as the Bank of Korea lowered interest rates for the fourth time in the current easing cycle and flagged more cuts ahead amid heightened political uncertainty in the country and renewed concerns over Trump's sweeping tariffs.

The Kospi surged 1.9 percent to 2,720.64, its highest level of the year, driven by institutional buying.

Australian markets eked out modest gains to notch their highest close in three months. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index edged up by 0.2 percent to 8,409.80, led by energy stocks. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed 0.2 percent higher at 8,637.80.

Woodside Energy Group rallied 2.8 percent after the federal government extended the life of its Northwest Shelf gas project.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index fell 0.7 percent to 12,281.31, marking a second straight day of declines and reaching its lowest level since early May.

Europe

European stocks have moved higher on Thursday after a U.S. federal court ruled that President Donald Trump had overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from U.S. trade partners.

The ruling also quashes duties that Trump imposed on Canada, Mexico and China separately using emergency powers.

The Trump administration subsequently filed an appeal against the ruling. China has urged the United States to "fully cancel the wrongful unilateral tariff measures."

While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.1 percent.

AI-exposed stocks such as ASML and Schneider Electric were up 2-3 percent while luxury stocks like LVMH, Kering and Burberry rose 1-2 percent.

London-listed shopbroker Braemar slumped nearly 8 percent as it unveiled a new growth plan and announced the start of a share buyback program.

U.S. Economic News

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended May 24th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 240,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 226,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 230,750, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 231,000.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed the U.S. economy shrank by slightly less than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2025.

The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product edged down by a revised 0.2 percent in the first quarter compared to the previously reported 0.3 percent dip. Economists had expected the modest decrease to be unrevised.

The slightly smaller than previously estimated decline reflected an upward revision to investment that was partly offset by a downward revision to consumer spending.

At 10 am ET, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on pending home sales in the month of April. Pending home sales are expected to decrease by 1.1 percent in April after surging by 6.1 percent in March.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee is due to participate in a moderated question-and-answer session before the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference at 10:40 am ET.

At 12 pm ET, the Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its report on crude oil inventories in the week ended May 23rd.

The Treasury Department is due to announce the results of this month's auction of $44 billion worth of seven-year notes at 1 pm ET.

At 2 pm ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at the 5th Annual Federal Reserve Board Macro-Finance Workshop.

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly is due to participate in a fireside chat before the Oakland Rotary Club at 4 pm ET.

At 8:25 pm ET, Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan is scheduled to deliver opening remarks and participate in a moderated conversation before a Greater Waco Member Appreciation event.