US stocks today: Market surges after Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs; Investors are weighing the weak data

U.S. stocks rose modestly in temporary trading Friday after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, a move that had earlier contributed to market volatility, the AP reported.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 128 points, or 0.3 per cent. The S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.5 per cent, supported by a 2 per cent rise in Alphabet shares.

Friday’s moves put the Dow on track for a modest 0.1 per cent gain for the period. The S&P 500 is tracking for a weekly gain of 0.7 cent, and the Nasdaq looks set to snap its five-week losing streak with a gain of more than 1 cent.

Earlier in the session, markets had fallen as investors reacted coolly to economic data that underlined the challenges facing the Federal Reserve, but there was no change in expectations for interest rate policy.

The S&P 500 was up 0.1 per cent after swinging between gains and losses. As of 9:59 a.m.

Eastern time, the Dow slipped 19 points, or less than 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2 percent.

Treasury yields also saw a limited rise following the reports, highlighting the difficult balancing act facing the Fed as it juggles persistent inflation as well as slowing economic growth.

A report showed the U.S. economy is projected to expand at an annual rate of 1.4 percent through the end of 2025, down from 4.4 percent growth during the summer and “by a huge number”.

according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management. A separate report indicated the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose to 2.9 per cent in December from 2.8 per cent in November.

An underlying measure, seen by economists as a better predictor of inflation trends, rose to 3 per cent from 2.8 per cent.

The Fed faces a difficult policy choice because it lacks the tools to simultaneously address slowing growth and increased inflation.

It could lower interest rates to support the economy—as it did last year and as President Donald Trump is urging—but doing so risks worsening inflation.

Fed officials said at their most recent meeting that they want to see inflation decline further before supporting additional rate cuts.

Following the data release, traders continued to expect at least two rate cuts by the end of the year, according to CME Group data.

although some changed expectations that rate easing could begin a little later in the summer.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.07 per cent from 4.08 per cent late Thursday, while the two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed policy, held steady at 3.47 per cent.

Among individual stocks, Akamai Technologies fell nearly 10 per cent, one of the market’s sharpest declines, despite reporting stronger-than-expected results for the year-end 2025.

as its profit forecast for the coming year disappointed investors.

The company said it plans to spend a larger portion of the revenue on equipment and investments.

highlighting the rising cost of computer memory linked to the shortage created by the artificial intelligence boom.

Comfort Systems was among the gainers, rising 5.4 per cent after reporting stronger quarterly profit than analysts expected.

Chief executive Brian Lane said the company was seeing “unprecedented demand”. In overseas markets, European indices posted marginal gains after a mixed session in Asia.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1 per cent after reopening after the Lunar New Year holidays, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.3 per cent to a record high, led by defence contractors such as Hanwha Aerospace amid a surge in global military spending.