Global markets rally as U.S. court blocks Trump-era tariffs; AI earnings also boost sentiment

Global equity markets opened higher on Thursday, buoyed by sharp gains in U.S. futures after a landmark federal court ruling blocked former President Donald Trump's authority to impose trade tariffs. The move was viewed as a significant de-escalation of trade-related risks, further supported by strong quarterly results from artificial intelligence major Nvidia.
A U.S. federal court ruled that Donald Trump did not have the authority to set tariffs unilaterally, effectively blocking the so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs introduced during his presidency. The Trump administration has already appealed the decision. The White House issued a sharp response, stating, 'It's not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency.'
This legal development was interpreted by markets as a rollback of protectionist trade policies, leading to a relief rally in equities. U.S. stock index futures surged in response: Dow Futures jumped 500 points (+1.19%) to 42,599
Nasdaq Futures gained 400 points (+1.88%) to 21,718
Russell 2000 Futures rose 41 points (+1.98%) to 2,109
The positive momentum spilled over into global markets: Germany's DAX Futures were up 190 points (+0.79%)
UK's FTSE Futures added 62 points (+0.70%)
Japan's Nikkei Index gained 529 points (+1.40%) to 38,252
South Korea's KOSPI rose 30 points (+1.14%)
Taiwan's Taiex Futures climbed 141 points (+0.67%)
India's GIFT Nifty was up 57 points (+0.23%) at 24,820 (adjusted). However, Hang Seng Futures in Hong Kong edged slightly lower by 24 points (-0.10%).
This rebound comes after a slightly negative close on Wall Street on the previous day: Dow Jones closed at 42,099, down 245 points (-0.58%)
Nasdaq ended at 19,101, lower by 98 points (-0.51%)
Analysts noted that the combination of strong AI earnings and legal checks on unilateral tariff powers has infused fresh optimism across equity markets globally.
News desk at BusinessUpturn.com

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

USA Today

34 minutes ago

• USA Today

Oil hits five-month high after US strikes key Iranian nuclear sites

SINGAPORE - Oil prices jumped on Monday, local time, to their highest since January as Washington's weekend move to join Israel in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities stoked supply worries. Brent crude futures rose $1.88 or 2.44% at $78.89 a barrel as of 1122 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced $1.87 or 2.53% at $75.71. Both contracts jumped by more than 3% earlier in the session to $81.40 and $78.40, respectively, five-month highs, before giving up some gains. The rise in prices came after President Donald Trump said he had "obliterated" Iran's main nuclear sites in strikes over the weekend, joining an Israeli assault in an escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself. Iran is OPEC's third-largest crude producer. Market participants expect further price gains amid mounting fears that an Iranian retaliation may include a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global crude supply flows. Iran's Press TV reported that the Iranian parliament approved a measure to close the strait. Iran has in the past threatened to close the strait but has never followed through on the move. "The risks of damage to oil infrastructure ... have multiplied," said Sparta Commodities senior analyst June Goh. Although there are alternative pipeline routes out of the region, there will still be crude volumes that cannot be fully exported out if the Strait of Hormuz becomes inaccessible. Shippers will increasingly stay out of the region, she added. Brent has risen 13% since the conflict began on June 13, while WTI has gained around 10%. The current geopolitical risk premium is unlikely to last without tangible supply disruptions, analysts said. Meanwhile, the unwinding of some of the long positions accumulated following a recent price rally could cap an upside to oil prices, Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, wrote in a market commentary on Sunday. (Reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Yahoo

44 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Trump Botches His Own Name In The Most Awkward Typo You'll Ever See

President Donald Trump on Sunday posted a message on his Truth Social website thanking the B-2 pilots who took part in this weekend's attack on Iran. But the president's message had one key flaw: He misspelled his own name. 'The GREAT B-2 pilots have just landed, safely, in Missouri. Thank you for a job well done!!!' Trump wrote, then signed his message in all caps: 'DONAKD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!' Trump deleted the message and replaced it with a corrected version, but a website that archives his posts shows the typo. Trump has a long and colorful history of typo-ridden social media posts, including the infamous 'covfefe' message of 2017, along with his references to a 'stollen' election, 'Wirch Hunt,' and 'hamberders.' He's bungled his own name before, referring to himself in 2019 as 'Donald Ttump,' and that of his wife, whom he called 'Melanie' Trump in 2018. It's not clear if Trump typed the message himself. A former aide, Madeleine Westerhout, testified during his criminal trial last year that when Trump was on Twitter, he preferred to dictate his messages, down to his trademark use of capitalizations and exclamation points. Footage released last year also showed him dictating and supervising his social media posts. Trump's critics called him out over the awkward typo:

CNBC

44 minutes ago

• CNBC

Trump calls 'obliteration' an accurate description of damage to Iran's nuclear facilities

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday disputed Iranian attempts to downplay the strikes on its nuclear facilities, stressing that "obliteration" was an accurate description, even though the full extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear capabilities was not immediately clear. "Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. The U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said Sunday that there was "severe damage and destruction" to the facilities at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, but did not go so far as to say that Iran's nuclear capacities had been "obliterated." "Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," Caine said. Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Sunday that while the damage assessment is ongoing, "all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike and had the desired effect." When asked if Iran still retains any nuclear capability, Caine said that "BDA is still pending, and it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there." Battle Damage Assessment, or BDA, is a military term that refers to the process of evaluating the effects of military operations on a target. It usually involves a physical or functional check on the extent of damage, beyond visual signs, and whether the target remains operable These assessments are usually conducted by intelligence analysts and reconnaissance teams, using data from drones, satellites, radar, or ground reports. It helps commanders decide if the mission achieved its objectives and if follow-up strikes are needed. The UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi also struck a cautious tone, saying that it was not yet possible to assess the damage done at the Fordo nuclear facility. Adding to the uncertainty, Reuters reported, citing a senior Iranian source, that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordo had been moved to an undisclosed location ahead of the U.S. strikes on the enrichment site. The strikes began early on Saturday, when six U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bombers dropped six GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) - a 30,000-pound bomb known as the "bunker buster," - on Iran's Fordo nuclear facility, which is built into the side of a mountain. A seventh U.S. B‑2 bomber released two GBU‑57 bombs on the Natanz Nuclear Facility, while a U.S. Navy submarine also launched a volley of 30 Tomahawk missiles, targeting Natanz and a third site, Isfahan. The mission, code named Operation Midnight Hammer, involved more than 125 aircraft in total.