Stocks rise as markets grapple with US trade ruling

Global stocks rose while the US dollar weakened after giving up earlier gains against big peers on Thursday as markets digested the surprise ruling of a trade court that blocked US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs.

The US Court of International Trade issued a ruling late on Wednesday that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from trading partners.

The decision triggered a court battle that would likely weigh on markets, after the Trump administration swiftly appealed the ruling and appeared poised to fight up to the US supreme court if needed.

Dublin

Ryanair rose marginally to €23.74 but the move was significant for chief executive Michael O’Leary, who is now set for a monster €100 million bonus after the airline’s shares hit a key performance target.

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The €23.74 close marked the 28th consecutive day the stock has closed above €21, the target for Mr O’Leary was set as part of a 2019 incentive scheme.

The only thing stopping Mr O’Leary getting one of the biggest payouts in European business history is if he leaves before July 2028.

Insulation maker Kingspan, which has a big operation in the US, rose by 1.46 per cent to €76.65 in line US market moves.

Hotel group Dalata fell by close to 1 per cent to €5.68 as figures from the Central Statistics Office pointed to an ongoing decline in tourist numbers here. However, industry representatives disputed the numbers, suggesting the industry was experiencing stronger footfall.

Europe

Europe’s Stoxx 600 index was down 0.13 per cent, after rising earlier in the session.

Media and utilities stocks were the worst performers, both down around 0.5 per cent.

Euro zone government bond yields inched down on Thursday as investors worried about the long term economic outlook after a federal court blocked most of Mr Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

Germany’s 10-year government bond yield, the euro area benchmark, fell 3.5 basis points (bps) to 2.51 per cent.

London

British equities were mixed on Thursday, as losses in utilities offset positive sentiments on the US court’s decision.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.1 per cent, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 rose 0.3 per cent.

On Wednesday, the US Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing duties on trading partners, invalidating most of his tariffs since January. However, the ruling did not address some industry-specific tariffs on automobiles, steel, and aluminium.

However, US White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said three trade deals were nearly done and he expected more despite the judgment.

Bond-proxy utilities were the biggest laggards on the blue-chip index, falling 2.1 per cent. National Grid and Severn Trent fell 3.8 per ent and 2.3 per cent, respectively, after trading without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts.

Shares of automotive platform Auto Trader tumbled 11.3 per cent to a more than one-month low after missing annual revenue estimates.

Hollywood Bowl fell 10.3 per cent, leading the decline in mid-cap index. The company which runs tenpin bowling centres in the UK and Canada, posted 9.4 per cent fall in half-year pretax profit to £28 million.

New York

Wall Street’s main indexes rose on Thursday after a federal court ruled against most of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and AI bellwether Nvidia reported a 69 per cent surge in quarterly sales.

Nvidia jumped 5 per cent after reporting higher-than-expected quarterly sales growth, driven by customers stockpiling AI chips in advance of US export restrictions on China.

The company, however, warned that the new curbs are expected to cut $8 billion from its current-quarter sales.

“We’re in a secular growth trajectory here for AI, AI investment, and everything seems to be lining up for the next kind of multi-quarter expansion across AI,” said David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation.

Dow component Salesforce weighed on the index, with its shares slumping 5.4 per cent even as the enterprise software provider raised its annual revenue and adjusted profit forecasts.

Apple, which Mr Trump threatened with tariffs last week, rose nearly 1 per cent. Tesla rose 2.2 per cent and Amazon added 1.2 per cent among megacap and growth stocks.

– Additional reporting by Reuters