US Stocks Close Friday Up as Supreme Court Rules Against Trump Tariffs

(MENAFN) U.S. equities closed higher Friday after the Supreme Court invalidated the sweeping tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, lifting investor sentiment despite a wave of concerning economic data released the same day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 230.81 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 49,625.97. The S&P 500 added 47.62 points, or 0.69 percent, finishing at 6,909.51, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 203.34 points, or 0.9 percent, to 22,886.07.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in positive territory. Communication services led all gainers with a 2.65 percent advance, followed by consumer discretionary at 1.27 percent. Energy and health care were the session’s laggards, falling 0.71 percent and 0.32 percent respectively.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the executive branch overstepped its authority by invoking emergency powers to impose import taxes on most trading partners, declaring a broad swath of last year’s tariffs illegal. President Donald Trump responded swiftly at a press conference, announcing his administration would introduce a new “10 percent global tariff” to replace the duties struck down by the court.

The ruling landed alongside a pair of unsettling economic reports. The personal consumption expenditures price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — rose 2.9 percent year over year in December, topping market expectations. Core inflation, stripping out food and energy, accelerated to 3 percent from 2.8 percent in November, keeping pressure on the Fed to maintain its cautious stance on rate cuts.

Separately, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that GDP expanded at just a 1.4 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2025 — well short of the 2.5 percent analysts had forecast. The report, delayed a month by the federal government shutdown, reflected an estimated drag of between 0.25 and 1.5 percentage points attributable to the closure.

Technology shares broadly advanced on the session. Alphabet surged 3.74 percent, while Amazon gained approximately 2.5 percent. Nvidia, Apple, and Meta each rose more than 1 percent. Microsoft edged slightly lower, and Tesla closed unchanged. Market attention now shifts to Nvidia’s earnings report due next week.

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