Wall Street Eyes Higher Open Following Court Ruling on Tariffs and Nvidia’s AI Surge
U.S. stock indexes were set to open higher Thursday as markets reacted positively to a federal court decision striking down most of the tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump.
The optimism was further fueled by a robust earnings report from Nvidia, which revealed a sharp 69% jump in quarterly revenue, according to a Reuters report.
Shares of Nvidia rose 5.6% in premarket trade after the company exceeded sales forecasts. The surge was largely driven by increased demand for AI chips, as buyers moved swiftly to stockpile inventory ahead of potential U.S. export controls targeting China. However, Nvidia cautioned that new government restrictions could reduce its sales for the current quarter by as much as $8 billion.
“AI continues on a strong upward trend, and all indicators suggest sustained growth over multiple quarters,” said David Russell, head of market strategy at TradeStation, in comments shared by Reuters.
The rally extended across the semiconductor sector. Advanced Micro Devices gained 2.8%, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF rose 2.7%, following Nvidia’s upbeat results.
Markets were also buoyed by the trade court’s ruling, which invalidated the majority of Trump’s sweeping tariff measures implemented since January. However, the court left certain product-specific duties on autos, steel, and aluminum intact. The ruling remains subject to appeal and could eventually be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
According to Aberdeen political economist Lizzy Galbraith, even if the ruling is upheld, future tariff efforts would likely shift toward more narrowly focused strategies. Meanwhile, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett indicated that three new trade agreements are close to finalization, despite the legal setback.
Futures signaled early strength across all major indexes. As of 8:31 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 116 points (0.28%), S&P 500 E-minis rose 51.5 points (0.87%), and Nasdaq 100 E-minis surged 304 points (1.42%).
Apple, recently threatened with additional tariffs, led premarket gains among large-cap tech stocks with a 2.2% rise. Meta and Alphabet also moved higher, climbing 1.3% and 1.2% respectively.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq appear poised to close May with their best monthly gains since November 2023. The S&P 500 currently sits just 4% below its all-time high, recovering from an earlier April pullback amid improving trade sentiment, strong corporate earnings, and easing inflation concerns.
Kosta Gushterov
Reporter at Coindoo
Kosta has been a part of the team since 2021 and has solidified his position with a thirst for knowledge, incredible dedication to his work and a “detective-like” mindset. He not only covers a wide range of trending topics, he also creates reviews, PR articles and educational content. His work has also been referenced by other news outlets.
