US stocks hang on to some gains on a topsy-turvy day for tariffs

The day was a microcosm of the year, with everyone’s heads spinning thanks to extremely volatile changes to US trade policy. This time, though, it was the judicial branch rather than the executive branch that created the whipsaw.

US stocks opened well in the green after a court order Wednesday evening saw many of President Trump’s tariffs blocked. But that wouldn’t stop the president from potentially pursuing other avenues to tax imports, and, by the way, that court order was overruled by another court before the day was out. Whew. 

Stocks closed well off their highs, with the S&P 500 up 0.4%, the Nasdaq 100 rising 0.2%, and the Russell 2000 gaining 0.3%.

Communications services was the lone S&P 500 sector ETF to close negative, while real estate, energy, utilities, and healthcare were prominent gainers.

Nvidia’s strong earnings and solid outlook released after the close on Wednesday were key to the index’s gains, with Wall Street excited about improving rack supply and its ability to generate revenues even without being able to access the Chinese market. The chip designer’s impressive results initially buoyed a lot of its peers, but that didn’t last. Most notably, CoreWeave, which was up double digits, completely fell out of bed to close down 9%.

Even though the blocked tariffs that didn’t stay blocked for a full day did not affect auto stocks, carmakers like Stellantis, Nissan, and Toyota put in big gains anyway.

Plane maker Boeing hit a 52-week high after CEO Kelly Ortberg said China would once again accept deliveries.

Meanwhile, Build-A-Bear rewarded bulls, hitting an all-time high after surging more than 20% on blowout earnings.

Best Buy’s earnings had the opposite effect, sending shares sharply lower as sales were lower than anticipated and management trimmed its full-year revenue forecast.