New York Stocks Close Higher as Reciprocal Tariff Ruling Eases Uncertainty

The major indexes of the New York stock market all closed higher after the U.S. Supreme Court put the brakes on former U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy of imposing reciprocal tariffs by country.

On the 20th (local time) in the New York stock market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 230.81 points, or 0.47%, from the previous session to close at 49,625.97. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index climbed 47.62 points, or 0.69%, to 6,909.51, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 203.34 points, or 0.90%, to finish at 22,886.07.

Reuters, Yonhap News Agency

Investor sentiment shifted after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Trump’s tariff policy was unlawful. Overall, all sectors rose except for healthcare and energy. Large Wall Street stocks led the market, including Alphabet, Google’s parent company, which advanced 4.01%, and Amazon, which gained 2.59%. Apple, Nvidia, and Meta also rose more than 1%. Apple, Nvidia, and Amazon, which had been heavily affected by the tariffs, reflected expectations of benefiting from the latest ruling.

Alongside the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling, a batch of U.S. economic indicators was also released that day. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the fourth quarter of last year was estimated at 1.4% (quarter-on-quarter annualized, advance estimate). This figure was well below the 2.5% forecast compiled by Dow Jones.

The main reason was analyzed to be reduced spending caused by the government shutdown (temporary suspension of government operations), which lasted 43 days from October 1 of last year, the longest on record. In contrast, the core PCE price index rose 0.4% from the previous month, exceeding market expectations.