New York (AFP) – Wall Street stocks advanced Friday as markets digested a US Supreme Court decision striking down some of the White House’s sweeping tariffs and President Donald Trump’s response vowing new levies. The conservative-majority top court ruled six-three that a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump has relied on, “does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.” A furious Trump, who nominated two of the justices who repudiated him, said he was “absolutely ashamed” of some justices “for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country” and vowed to impose a uniform tariff of 10 percent under a separate authority.
Wall Street stocks, which had opened lower following disappointing US economic data, pushed into positive territory and also ended higher following a choppy session. The S&P 500 ended up 0.7 percent. Some analysts said they expect the ruling to lead to lower inflation, but others described the situation as fundamentally uncertain. The market is not “surprised by what it heard from the Supreme Court and at the same time, it’s not surprised that the Trump administration is already touting its ability to make up for the lost revenue that would come from revoking the tariffs,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial, described the ruling as throwing a “pretty large wrench into the policy machine,” predicting that policy uncertainty would remain “elevated.”
Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist for LPL Financial, predicted Trump would likely pivot to a different legal strategy. “However, if lower tariffs help cool inflation, it could firm up expectations for Fed rate cuts later this year,” Buchbinder said in a note. In Europe, a closely watched survey on Friday showed that business activity in the eurozone accelerated in February, indicating that the region’s economy is on a more stable footing. British firms also boosted output in February, according to the purchasing managers’ index published by S&P Global. London’s FTSE 100 stock index hit a fresh record high, as did the CAC 40 in Paris.
In Asia, Hong Kong fell as it reopened from a three-day break for the Lunar New Year, and Tokyo was also down. Oil prices, which surged to multi-month highs this week on US suggestions of military action against Iran, moved sideways as markets kept an eye on geopolitics. Trump had suggested on Thursday that “bad things” would happen if Tehran did not strike a deal within 10 days, which he subsequently extended to 15. Asked by a reporter on Friday whether he was contemplating a limited military strike, Trump answered: “The most I can say — I am considering it.”
Also Friday, data showed the US economy expanded at a 1.4 percent annual rate in the October to December period, significantly below the 2.5 percent pace that analysts had forecasted for the quarter. The period included a lengthy US government shutdown amid a budget fight between Trump and Congress. “At first glance the first reading of fourth quarter GDP was very disappointing,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management. “However, the government was shut down for almost half the quarter,” he added.
– Key figures at around 2110 GMT – New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 49,625.97 (close) New York – S&P: UP 0.7 percent at 6,909.51 (close) New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.9 percent at 22,886.07 (close) London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 10,686.89 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.4 percent at 8,515.49 (close) Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 25,260.69 (close) Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 56,825.70 (close) Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 26,413.35 (close) Shanghai – Composite: Closed for holiday Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1788 from $1.1773 on Thursday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3487 from $1.3465 Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.37 pence from 87.43 pence Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.02 yen from 155.01 yen Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $71.76 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $66.39 per barrel.
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