MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stocks edged higher as investors sift through tariff developments. Treasury yields fell on data suggesting the economy is slowly cooling. Oil fell on continued OPEC+ supply concerns. Gold moved higher on the trade development, while the dollar was lower.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

Wall Street took the latest tariff news with a grain of salt.

Investors reacted with an initial burst of optimism late Wednesday when a federal trade court struck down President Trump's most sweeping tariffs. By Thursday afternoon, stocks had pared gains.

The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 both ended the day 0.4% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average tacked on 0.3%.

Wednesday's ruling by a previously obscure court suprised investors and sent many scrambling to figure out how much of a brake courts could apply to the Trump administration's increased tariffs. Economists had struck a cautious note, saying the administration could prevail on appeal. Analysts speculated the administration could deploy alternative legal measures.

Earlier Thursday, stocks in Asia were higher.

China's benchmark Shanghai Composite ended 0.7% higher, while the Shenzhen Composite Index and the ChiNext Price Index each were up 1.4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index increased 1.4%.

Stocks in Japan gained, with the Nikkei Stock Average rising 1.9%.

Stocks in New Zealand slipped, as the S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 0.7% -- the second consecutive session of decreases. Meanwhile, stocks in Australia rose, as the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index added 0.2%.

COMMODITIES

The boost to oil from a U.S. court ruling against President Trump's trade tariffs proved short-lived, and futures turned lower, with OPEC+ supply concerns remaining as a headwind.

West Texas Intermediate crude settled down 1.5% at $60.94 a barrel, while Brent crude fell 1.2% to $64.15.

Another 411,000-barrel increase in July would bring accumulated unwinding of output cuts to 1.37 million b/d, although "the actual supply boost may be significantly less than projected," said StoneX's Alex Hode.

Gold moved higher following the U.S. Court of International Trade's decision to void most of President Trump's tariffs.

The front-month May gold contract snapped a two-session losing streak, rising 0.7% to $3,317.10 a troy ounce.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Tariff Ruling Is Put On Hold While Trump Administration Appeals

A federal appeals court has temporarily put on hold a ruling that voided President Trump's tariffs while it considers the administration's challenge to the lower-court decision.

In a brief order Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it was pausing Wednesday's decision from the U.S. Court of International Trade until it can hear further legal arguments. The order, known as an administrative stay, didn't rule on the merits of the litigation. Administrative stays are common in emergency appeals.

The Federal Circuit, an intermediate appeals court in Washington, D.C., signaled it was prepared to move swiftly on the case, as the Trump administration had urged it to do. It asked a group of companies that challenged the tariffs to file a brief before June 5 laying out their arguments, and directed the Justice Department to reply by June 9. The order indicates the appeal will be heard by the full court, with 11 active judges participating.

Trump Tells Powell He Is Making a Mistake by Not Cutting Interest Rates

President Trump told Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell he is making a mistake by not lowering interest rates, the White House said Thursday.

The Fed said Powell met with Trump at the White House on Thursday "to discuss economic developments including for growth, employment and inflation."

The meeting was at Trump's invitation, the Fed said.

GDP Shrank Less Than First Reported Last Quarter. This Is Why.

The U.S. economy contracted less than initially thought in the first three months of the year as an increase in imports, slowing consumer spending, and a downturn in government spending were partly offset by increases in investment and exports.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis revised its estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product to show the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.2%, compared with the previously reported 0.3% drop. That marks a notable shift from the 2.4% gain in the fourth quarter, and is marginally better than the 0.3% decline expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg and FactSet.

A 42.6% spike in imports-driven largely by companies racing to get ahead of White House trade policy-was the main drag on the economy, widening the trade gap and pulling growth into negative territory. Imports count as a subtraction in the BEA's calculation of GDP.

Costco's Earnings Beat Estimates. The Stock Rises.

Costco Wholesale reported higher sales and earnings than expected for its fiscal fourth quarter, showing yet again that it is a haven from economic volatility.

The warehouse club posted earnings of $4.28 a share, while the consensus call among analysts tracked by FactSet was for $4.24. Revenue for the quarter ended May 11 was $63.2 billion. Analysts had penciled in $63.1 billion.

Shares of Costco rose 1.3% to $1,022.50 in after-hours trading Thursday. The stock is up 10% this year.

Dell Stock Rises on Strong Outlook

Dell Technologies stock rose after the company gave a strong revenue outlook for the current quarter.

For its fiscal first quarter ended in April, the company reported revenue of $23.4 billion, up 5% versus the prior year-above the Wall Street consensus of $23.2 billion, according to FactSet. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.55 per share, which is below the $1.70 analysts' consensus estimate.

Guidance was strong. For the current quarter, Dell forecast a revenue range of $28.5 billion to $29.5 billion, which is above analysts' expectations of $25.3 billion. The company also provided a revenue range forecast for fiscal 2026 of $101 billion to $105 billion, versus the $103.1 billion consensus.

Expected Major Events for Friday

01:00/JPN: Apr Steel Imports & Exports Statistics

01:00/PHI: Apr External Trade Performance

01:30/AUS: Apr Retail Trade

01:30/AUS: Apr Building Approvals

01:30/AUS: Apr Financial Aggregates, incl Private Sector Credit

02:00/SIN: Apr Money Supply

02:00/SIN: Apr Bank Loans

04:30/JPN: Apr Preliminary Report on Petroleum Statistics

05:00/JPN: Apr Housing Starts

05:00/JPN: Apr Construction Orders

06:30/AUS: Apr International Reserves & Foreign Currency Liquidity

07:00/THA: Apr Industrial Production Index

07:00/MAL: Apr Money Supply

07:30/THA: Weekly International Reserves

08:15/HK: Apr Money Supply

09:59/PHI: Apr Money Supply (M3)

09:59/HK: Apr Tourism figures

All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.

Write to us at singaporeeditors@dowjones.com

We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to https://newsplus.wsj.com/subscriptions.

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 29, 2025 17:04 ET (21:04 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.