Trump Tariff Ruling Lifts Nasdaq Futures, Dollar Climbs

A US court invalidated former President Trump's April 2 tariffs, boosting Nasdaq futures by 2% as investors anticipated reduced trade uncertainty. Asian and European stock futures rose over 1%, and the US dollar gained against the Swiss franc, euro, and yen. Treasury yields edged higher while Fed rate cut expectations slightly eased amid mixed inflation and growth implications from the ruling.

Equities

The FTSE 100 fell 0.6% on Wednesday as investors weighed up a range of corporate updates and softer global sentiment. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was broadly flat, edging up just 0.04%. Despite the day’s decline, the FTSE 100 is on track for its best month in four, while the FTSE 250 is set for its strongest month in ten. A drop in mining stocks and weakness in retailers weighed on the index. The industrial metals sector was the biggest faller, down 1.3%, after copper prices slipped.

Among individual UK stocks, Kingfisher shares fell 3.6% following its latest earnings report. The home improvement retailer’s update didn’t meet investor expectations, although the details of the results weren’t disclosed in the announcement. GlobalData shares dropped 1.6% after extending the deadline for private equity group ICG to submit a takeover offer. Talks with US investment firm KKR were ended after both sides failed to reach a deal. There was no major news involving FTSE giants like BP or AstraZeneca during the session.

In the US, markets closed lower across the board. The Dow Jones fell 0.6%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.6% and the Nasdaq declined 0.5% as chip-related stocks lost ground in late trading. The weakness followed a Financial Times report stating that the Trump administration had ordered US semiconductor design software firms to stop selling to Chinese customers. Cadence Design Systems shares fell 10.7% and Synopsys also dropped, though the percentage decline was not specified.

Nvidia was a key focus. The stock fell 0.5% during the day but jumped 5% after the closing bell as it reported quarterly sales that beat analyst forecasts. However, its guidance for second-quarter revenue came in below expectations. Investors remain focused on Nvidia due to its central role in artificial intelligence development. After hours, other chipmakers also saw gains, with Broadcom rising 3.2% and AMD up 1.5%.

Elsewhere, Dick’s Sporting Goods rose 1.7% after reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Market breadth was weak: declining stocks outnumbered gainers by nearly 3-to-1 on the NYSE and 2-to-1 on the Nasdaq. Trading volume was lighter than average, with 15.6 billion shares exchanged compared with the 20-day average of 17.7 billion.

Forex & Commodities

The US dollar rose sharply on Thursday after a federal court blocked President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs. The greenback climbed 0.64% against the yen to 145.77 and gained 0.67% on the Swiss franc to 0.83245. The euro slipped 0.4% to $1.12445 while sterling edged slightly lower to $1.344. This lifted the dollar index back above the 100 mark for the first time in a week.

Gold prices moved lower, pressured by the stronger dollar. Spot gold fell 0.6% to $3,271.17 an ounce, its lowest since 20 May, while US gold futures dropped 0.8% to $3,268.20. The court ruling reduced demand for safe-haven assets. However, analysts still see a longer-term bullish outlook for gold, citing lingering inflation risks and expectations of a weaker dollar further out.

Oil prices rose by around $1 a barrel following the court ruling, which helped lift risk sentiment. Brent crude futures were up 1.6% at $65.93, while US West Texas Intermediate gained 1.7% to $62.90. Supply concerns also supported prices, with potential new US sanctions on Russian crude and OPEC+ expected to agree on a further output increase for July. Chevron has halted oil operations in Venezuela after losing its US operating licence.