Kamal Ghorui
US stocks traded with modest gains in tentative trading on Friday after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, a move that had previously contributed to market volatility, AP reported. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 128 points, or 0.3 per cent. The S&P 500 gained 0.4 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5 per cent, supported by a 2 per cent rise in Alphabet shares. Friday’s move puts the Dow on course for a modest 0.1 per cent gain for the period. The S&P 500 is tracking a weekly rise of 0.7 per cent, and the Nasdaq looks set to halt its five-week slide with gains exceeding 1 per cent.Earlier in the session, markets had drifted as investors reacted calmly to economic data that underscored the challenges facing the Federal Reserve but did little to alter expectations for interest-rate policy.The S&P 500 later held a 0.1 per cent gain after swinging between gains and losses. The Dow slipped 19 points, or less than 0.1 per cent, as of 9:59 am Eastern time, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2 per cent.Treasury yields also showed limited movement following the reports, which highlighted the difficult balancing act confronting the Fed as it navigates slowing economic growth alongside persistent inflation.One report showed the US economy expanded at a 1.4 per cent annual rate toward the end of 2025, down from a 4.4 per cent surge during the summer and “a bummer of a number,” according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management.A separate report indicated that the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge accelerated 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 tools to simultaneously address slowing growth and elevated inflation. It could lower interest rates to support the economy — as it did last year and as President Donald Trump has been 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 releases, traders continued to expect at least two rate cuts by the end of the year, according to CME Group data, though some shifted expectations for when easing could begin to slightly later in the summer.The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down 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 about 10 per cent, one of the market’s sharpest declines, despite reporting stronger-than-expected results for late 2025, as its profit forecast for the upcoming year disappointed investors.The company said it plans to spend a larger share of revenue on equipment and investments, highlighting rising computer memory costs linked to shortages created by the artificial intelligence boom.Comfort Systems was among the gainers, rising 5.4 per cent after reporting stronger quarterly profits than analysts expected. Chief executive Brian Lane said the company is seeing “unprecedented demand.”In overseas markets, European indexes posted modest gains following a mixed session in Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1 per cent after reopening following 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 increased global military spending.
