(Sharecast News) - Major indices traded higher early on Thursday as market participants digested news that a federal court had struck down Donald Trump's so-called "reciprocal" tariffs and cheered solid earnings from AI darling Nvidia.
As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.08% at 42,133.80, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.41% to 5,912.81 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.65% firmer at 19,224.74.
The Dow opened 35.10 points higher on Thursday, taking a bite out of losses recorded in the previous session as minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest two-day policy meeting revealed that policymakers were growing more concerned about the potentially inflationary impact of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.
However, on Wednesday night, the US Court of International Trade ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority when imposing his "reciprocal" tariffs and ordered that the challenged tariff orders be vacated. In a major blow to the president's core economic policy, the court ruled that Congress alone had exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries, and that presidential powers to safeguard the economy did not overrule that. The ruling invalidates most of Trump's tariffs with immediate effect, with the administration being given ten days to dismantle the regime.
In terms of Thursday's macro headlines, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 10 May, according to the Department of Labor. Initial jobless claims rose by 14,000 week-on-week to 240,000, the highest reading in a month, and above expectations of 230,000. Outstanding claims rose by 26,000 to 1.91m, also above market expectations of a drop to 1.89m, and the highest level since November 2021.
Elsewhere, the US economy shrank by 0.2% year-on-year during Q125, according to revised official statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, confirming preliminary reports that the US economy had seen its first contraction since 2022. Q1's GDP contraction comes after a 2.4% expansion in Q424 and was principally a result of a surge in activity as US firms hurried to import goods before Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
Finally, pending home sales fell by 6.30% month-on-month in April, according to the National Association of Realtors, down from a 5.5% increase in March.
In the corporate space, shares in chipmaker Nvidia were higher in early trading after the tech giant's Q1 figures exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines, driven by a 73% year-on-year improvement in its data centre business, while Best Buy was under pressure after Trump's tariff regime caused the US electronics retailer to slash its full-year revenue guidance to $41.1bn-41.9bn this year, down from its previous forecast og between $41.4bn-42.2bn.
Still to come, Dell Technologies and Costco will deliver their latest quarterly numbers after the close.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $28.95 2.17%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $303.08 1.67%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $282.07 1.32%
3M Co. (MMM) $150.29 1.10%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $62.35 0.92%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $137.27 0.92%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $153.82 0.91%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $352.62 0.90%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $76.79 0.81%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $201.90 0.74%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $260.55 -5.61%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $603.69 -0.78%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.30 -0.37%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $70.89 -0.36%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $63.22 -0.18%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $273.40 -0.09%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.19 -0.04%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $260.37 0.05%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $313.02 0.06%
S&P 500 - Risers
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $8.97 10.74%
Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) $116.58 5.15%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $141.63 5.06%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $69.33 4.63%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $4.95 3.77%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $34.12 3.74%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $80.19 3.47%
ProLogis (PLD) $111.36 3.19%
Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (ARE) $71.86 3.15%
Macerich Co (MAC) $16.22 2.79%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $66.19 -7.45%
HP Inc (HPQ) $25.24 -7.22%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $260.55 -5.61%
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $88.11 -5.04%
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $29.45 -3.36%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $29.19 -2.81%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $143.93 -2.01%
Kroger Co. (KR) $66.41 -1.89%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $224.33 -1.75%
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) $78.58 -1.74%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $4.95 9.03%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $141.63 5.06%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $32.76 3.74%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $130.59 2.40%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $365.04 2.28%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $472.33 2.14%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $58.66 2.09%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $64.46 2.03%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $142.21 1.80%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $84.54 1.62%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $143.93 -2.01%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $224.33 -1.75%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $1,189.43 -1.58%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $220.41 -1.58%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $401.71 -1.39%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $63.21 -0.78%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $41.15 -0.78%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $63.31 -0.72%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $239.94 -0.65%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $34.41 -0.64%
55.93 (0.64%)
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