Wall Street retreats as Trump tariffs get a temporary reprieve from appeals court
A Federal appeals court temporarily blocked a ruling from the Court of International Trade that barred most of the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs on global trading partners. The legal development reignited uncertainty, sparking renewed selloffs in US stock markets and dragged the US dollar sharply lower from its intraday high.
The decision provides the White House with additional time to defend the legality of the president's efforts to reshape global trade relations. Federal officials signalled that the same level of import levies could be reintroduced under alternative legal authorities, although enacting tariffs via other sections of the Trade Act could take several months.
'I can assure the American people that the Trump tariff agenda is alive, well, healthy and will be implemented to protect you, to save your jobs and your factories, and to stop shipping foreign wealth — our wealth — into foreign hands,' Peter Navarro, Trump's top trade adviser, said on Thursday.
Trump had invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the so-called reciprocal tariffs announced in early April. However, on Wednesday, the trade court ruled that the president does not have the authority to impose such broad levies under the IEEPA.
'America cannot function if President Trump — or any other president, for that matter — has their sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges,' said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. 'Ultimately, the Supreme Court must put an end to this for the sake of our Constitution and our country.'
The US stock markets initially jumped on the original court ruling, alongside positive quarterly earnings results from Nvidia. However, major indices gave up early gains despite a higher close on Thursday. During Friday's Asian session, US stock futures continued to fall as risk-off sentiment prevailed.
As of 4 am CEST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.08%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures both declined 0.26%.
European markets are also expected to open lower, according to futures pricing. The Euro Stoxx 50 was down 0.19%, and Germany's DAX slipped 0.15%. German equities extended losses for a second consecutive day on Thursday, following a record high on Tuesday. Investors will be closely watching the progress of US-EU trade talks, though the legal battle surrounding the Trump administration's tariffs is adding complexity to the outlook.
Asian equity markets also traded mostly lower on Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.4%, Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 1.39%, and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.61%. Australia's ASX 200 was flat as of 3:10 am CEST.
The latest court developments have once again dented investor confidence in US assets, particularly the dollar. Yields on US government bonds initially jumped to 4.5% but later pulled back to 4.42% as Treasury prices came under renewed pressure.
Meanwhile, haven assets have rallied. Gold jumped, and the euro, the Swiss franc, and the Japanese yen all strengthened significantly. The euro rebounded sharply from an intraday low against the dollar on Thursday after the tariff ruling was paused. The EUR/USD pair fell as low as 1.1210 before surging to 1.1353 as of 3:11 am CEST on Friday. Gold futures also swung higher, climbing to $3,321 per ounce from an intraday low of $3,269 on Thursday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
9 minutes ago
- CNN
Laura Loomer meets with Vice President JD Vance at White House complex, sources say
Laura Loomer, the far-right activist who once posted a video claiming 9/11 was an 'inside job,' was back at the White House complex Tuesday morning, where she met privately with Vice President JD Vance, three sources familiar with the meeting tell CNN. The sources would not share the substance of the one-on-one closed-door meeting, which occurred in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, or what was discussed. Loomer did not meet with President Donald Trump and has since departed the White House complex, one of the sources said. After Loomer's last known visit to the White House in April, the White House fired several National Security Council staffers whom she labeled as disloyal. The administration also fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency. Loomer, who has a loyal online following, has been an influential figure in the Trump administration. She has a direct line to the president and has been known to influence personnel decisions, though she has not been able to secure a White House press credential. 'I do think there's a fear that I may ask questions about the loyalties of people in the White House,' she told CNN recently, 'and they fear me having a national and global microphone to ask those questions.' Loomer had publicly criticized then-national security adviser Michael Waltz before he was ousted from his position, accusing the former Florida congressman of making poor personnel choices. She weighed in more recently on the administration's move to withdraw Jared Isaacman as its nominee to be the next NASA administrator, touting Isaacman's professional accomplishments and questioning why the White House would not move forward on him. During the 2024 campaign, Trump's travels with Loomer on September 11 were illustrative of her influence with the then-candidate. But her proximity to Trump sparked some friction in part because she had previously posted a video claiming that the attack on the World Trade Center towers was an 'inside job.' Loomer told CNN at the time, 'I've never denied the fact that Islamic terrorists carried out the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In fact, the media calls me anti Muslim precisely for the reason that I spend so much time focusing on talking about the threats of Islamic terrorism in America.'
CNBC
10 minutes ago
- CNBC
Trump slams GOP Sen. Rand Paul for opposing 'big, beautiful bill' due to $5 trillion debt ceiling hike
President Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted Sen. Rand Paul after the Kentucky Republican criticized the massive Trump-backed budget bill over its provision to raise the debt ceiling by trillions of dollars. Paul, a staunch libertarian, said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that he is "just not open to supporting $5 trillion ... in debt ceiling increase" that the Senate's version of the bill currently includes. Trump lashed out soon after, writing on Truth Social that the senator "has very little understanding" of the budget plan that the president has dubbed the "one big, beautiful bill." Trump claimed Paul does not grasp that the bill, which includes a slew of tax and spending cuts but is projected to significantly widen national deficits, will spur "tremendous GROWTH." "He loves voting 'NO' on everything, he thinks it's good politics, but it's not," Trump said of the senator. In a follow-up post, Trump attacked Paul in more personal terms. He "never has any practical or constructive ideas," Trump wrote, adding, "His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can't stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!" A spokesperson for Paul's Senate office did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Trump's posts. The president's heated reaction is part of a broader pressure campaign to convince Republican holdouts to vote for the massive bill, the centerpiece of Trump's domestic policy agenda. The budget package narrowly passed by the House last month would extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts, and add new exemptions on workers' tips and overtime, seniors' Social Security and more. It would also impose work requirements for the government-run health insurance program Medicaid, and it would reform the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, that millions of low-income Americans rely upon. The version of the bill that passed the House in late May would also increase the U.S. debt limit by $4 trillion. The version currently pending in the Senate would hike the debt ceiling even more, $5 trillion total. The debt ceiling increase is "the main thing that I object to," Paul said Tuesday on CNBC. Setting the ceiling at $5 trillion is "an indication that we'll borrow that much," he said. "It's an indication that will put the debt on the back burner." "I do want the tax cuts. I want them to be permanent. I'm throwing a lot of spending cuts, but I'll compromise and get as much as I can," he said. "I'm just not going to take responsibility for the debt," said Paul. The bill is moving through Congress via the reconciliation process, which would enable to the 53-47 Republican Senate majority to bypass the traditional 60-vote threshold and approve the bill without any Democratic support. But that also means that Republicans can only afford to lose three votes in the chamber. Paul said Sunday that he believes there are currently four Republicans opposed to the package as it stands. But if the debt ceiling hike were cut from the bill, Paul said, then he would vote for it. "I would be very surprised if the bill, at least, is not modified in a good direction," he told CBS' "Face the Nation."
Fox News
15 minutes ago
- Fox News
Illegal immigrant suspect in Jocelyn Nungaray's murder now accused of prior sexual assault in Costa Rica
One of two suspects charged in Jocelyn Nungaray's murder is now accused of raping an American woman in Costa Rica, according to former Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. Two Venezuelan illegal immigrants who may have ties to the Tren de Aragua gang — Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21 — are charged in the 12-year-old's June 2024 murder. They allegedly sexually assaulted and strangled the pre-teen to death, leaving her body tied up in a bayou in Houston. Ogg told FOX 26 Houston last week that she learned over the course of her investigation as DA, before her successor Sean Teare took office last year, that Pena Ramos had been involved in a prior sexual assault in Costa Rica involving an American woman who was apparently on vacation at the time. "It happened in Costa Rica. It happened to an American citizen who came forward with that information after their pictures were shown on national television," Ogg told the outlet. "When she reported it to the authorities in Costa Rica, they did nothing. Imagine the frustration of that individual. I don't want that to be swept under the carpet." The victim is not from Texas but felt compelled to come forward when Nungaray's murder made national headlines and she saw the suspects' photos on the news. "The courage of any crime victim to come forward like that is remarkable to me and that played a major role in determining whether the death penalty is appropriate," Ogg told FOX 26. Ogg, who was seeking the death penalty for both suspects while in office, added that "authorities had no idea of their past behavior," such as charges in other countries, which "makes it hard to determine if someone is going to be a future danger." The former district attorney said she came forward with the information to FOX 26 now because she is "very concerned about the decisions" that Teare "has been making," referencing multiple cases that have been dismissed recently. "I think it's important for the public to get the final say," Ogg added. "Do they deserve death for the rape and murder of Jocelyn? Or should they spend their life in the penitentiary? What I don't want is some backdoor deal done in the quiet of the night and a long time after people have forgotten the horror of this case. I just want people to remember Jocelyn, and I want them to hear and make a decision about the evidence." Alexis Nungaray, Jocelyn's mother, has since become an advocate for victims of crimes allegedly committed by illegal immigrants. In a May interview, Alexis Nungaray described the 12-year-old as "a very creative, talented, free-spirited 12-year-old girl." Nungaray said Jocelyn "was very quirky" and "an old soul." She liked dressing in 1990s-style cargo jeans and Converse and loved listening to music from as far back as the 1940s and 1950s. "She was very different and unique. She was an amazing friend," Nungaray said. Nungaray also said she is grateful to President Donald Trump for both his support and for "keeping his promises" regarding immigration enforcement. "I support immigration, but I say there's just a right way and a wrong way to do it," she explained. "He's protecting the people, and he's taking consideration to the people, us the citizens and making sure we're safe and our kids are safe, women are safe, that we're all safe in our communities." "We've still got a long way to go," she went on. "But I will always advocate for her and be her voice and stand up for better border control and immigration laws. Because I know 1 million percent, Jocelyn's death should have been preventable." WATCH: JOCELYN NUNGARAY'S MOTHER TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS Pena Ramos illegally crossed into El Paso, Texas, in May 2024, sources with the Department of Homeland Security previously confirmed to Fox News. He was caught by Border Patrol agents and was released into the U.S. with a Notice to Appear in court. Rangel Martinez also crossed illegally into El Paso in March and was caught by Border Patrol. He was released into the U.S. on an unknown basis. Jocelyn had been at a convenience store and was talking to her 13-year-old boyfriend on the phone after sneaking out of her family's apartment. The boyfriend told investigators that he could hear Nungaray talking with two people.
