The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Friday, removing a policy that had sent investors scrambling last year. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 230 points or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%, closing at 22,886.07. Analysts said many investors had already anticipated the ruling, leading to a muted response across financial markets.
The ruling removes immediate tariff uncertainty but signals ongoing conflict over trade policy. Trump said Friday he would pursue alternative paths to impose tariffs, indicating he would sign an executive order for a 10% global tariff that could be limited to 150 days through Commerce Department investigations.
Markets and Tariffs
Treasury yields held steady as stock markets absorbed competing signals about inflation and federal debt. The 10-year Treasury yield remained at 4.08%, where it closed Thursday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks Federal Reserve policy expectations, rose to 3.48% from 3.47%.
“Just so you understand, we have tariffs, we just have them in a different way,” Trump told reporters Friday afternoon.
He said he would sign an executive order to impose a 10% global tariff under a law that could limit such action to 150 days. Trump also said he is exploring additional tariffs through the Commerce Department, which could conduct investigations to justify duties on other countries.
“During that period of about five months, we are doing the various investigations necessary to put fair tariffs – or tariffs, period – on other countries,” Trump said.
Individual Stocks
Ralph Lauren stock initially fell after the Supreme Court’s ruling, then swung to a 3.3% gain before finishing with a 2.2% increase. The stock had dropped nearly 23% in four days when Trump announced the tariffs last April due to investor concerns about impact on corporate profits.
Akamai Technologies dropped 14.1% for one of the market’s sharpest losses. The cybersecurity and cloud computing company reported stronger-than-expected results for late 2025 but provided a profit forecast for the coming year that fell short of analyst estimates. The company plans to increase spending on equipment and other investments, a sign of how computer-memory shortages created by the artificial-intelligence boom are affecting customers across the economy.
Comfort Systems rose 6.5% after the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and electrical services provider reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Brian Lane said his company is seeing “unprecedented demand.”
The S&P 500 closed at 6,909.51 and the Dow finished at 49,625.97.
International Markets
Stock indexes in Europe added to gains from earlier in the day. In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi index jumped 2.3% to a record, driven by major defense contractors like Hanwha Aerospace that are benefiting from increased military spending in several countries. The Hang Seng fell 1.1%.