U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Donald Trump administration's reciprocal tariff policy lifts all three major New York stock indexes at the open.
As of 10:58 a.m. on the 20th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the New York Stock Exchange was up 0.29% at 49,536.11 from the previous close, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite were up 0.64% and 1.06%, respectively, in trading.
What revived market sentiment that day was the judiciary's decision. The Supreme Court justices, in a 6-3 ruling, affirmed a lower court's decision that found it an abuse of power for President Trump to introduce blanket tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The ruling overshadowed even the weak economic data released the same day. According to the Commerce Department, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the fourth quarter last year was an annualized 1.4%, well below the market expectation of 3%.
Meanwhile, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for December rose 0.4%, above the 0.3% forecast, showing slowing growth and rising prices at the same time, but the macro catalyst of invalidating the tariff policy led the market.
European stocks also rose across the board. The Euro Stoxx 50 was up 0.96% from the previous close at 6,117.98 in transactions. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX were up 0.71% and 0.73%, respectively, and France's CAC 40 rose 1.14% from the previous close.
International oil prices weakened. At the same time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March 2026 delivery, the front-month contract, was down 0.66% from the previous close at $65.99 a barrel.