Asian shares rose and US futures surged after a federal court ruling prevented President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law.The court found the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump has cited as his basis for ordering massive increases in import duties, does not authorize the use of tariffs.The Trump administration filed an appeal, and it was unclear if the White House will respond to the ruling by pausing all of its emergency power tariffs in the interim.Whilst Trump’s significant tariff increases are suspended for up to 90 days to accommodate trade talks, the ambiguity surrounding their final resolution has affected business operations and created consumer uncertainty.The S&P 500 futures increased by 1.6%, whilst the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 1.2%.Japan’s Nikkei 225 index advanced 1.5% to 38,263.36. Japan, America’s primary Asian ally, continues to urge Trump to withdraw tariffs on Japanese imports and eliminate the 25% duties on steel, aluminium and automobiles.The ruling caused a significant rise in the dollar against the Japanese yen, reaching 146.06 yen early Thursday, up from 144.87 yen late Wednesday.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 increased 0.3% to 8,418.90.South Korea’s Kospi index climbed 1.4% to 2,707.77, benefiting from export considerations and the Bank of Korea’s decision to reduce its key interest rate to 2.5% from 2.75%.US stocks declined on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 falling 0.6% to 5,888.55, remaining within 4.2% of its peak following optimism about reduced trade tensions. It had previously dropped approximately 20% below this level.The Dow industrials decreased 0.6% to 42,098.70, whilst the Nasdaq composite declined 0.5% to 19,100.94.Market activity remained subdued before Nvidia’s latest quarterly earnings announcement on Wednesday after trading hours. The company’s shares fell 0.5% during regular trading but increased 4.9% afterwards.Macy’s stock fluctuated throughout the day before closing 0.3% lower, despite reporting smaller-than-expected declines in revenue and profit.Other retailers posted stronger results. Abercrombie & Fitch jumped 14.7% after beating earnings and revenue forecasts. CEO Fran Horowitz credited global growth and strong performance from the Hollister brand, which helped offset weaker results from Abercrombie.Dick’s Sporting Goods rose 1.7% after surpassing analyst estimates and reaffirming its full-year outlook.The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield edged up to 4.47% from 4.43% on Tuesday. Bond markets showed little movement after the Federal Reserve released minutes from its recent meeting, where it left interest rates unchanged for the third time. The Fed is holding off on rate cuts due to ongoing inflation concerns, partly linked to tariffs under Trump’s trade policies.In commodities, US crude oil rose 60 cents to $62.44 a barrel, while Brent crude increased 56 cents to $64.88. The euro slipped to $1.1239 from $1.1292.
