US stocks edge up in volatile moves, trade policy stays in place

The US Supreme Court has struck down most of President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs

The US stocks edged up in volatile moves on Friday. After recovering from an initial move to the downside, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Friday but largely maintained a positive bias. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led gains. The Nasdaq rallied 203.34 points or 0.9 percent to 22,886.07, the S&P 500 gained 47.62 points or 0.7 percent to 6,909.51 and the Dow rose 230.81 points or 0.5 percent to 49,625.97.

For the holiday-shortened week, the Nasdaq spiked 1.5 percent, the S&P 500 jumped by 1.1 percent and the Dow rose by 0.3 percent. In a key announcement, the US Supreme Court struck down most of President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs. The nation's highest court ruled in a 6-3 decision that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. However, Trump announced plans to sign an executive order imposing a new 10 percent "global tariff."

 

On the economic front, the US gross domestic product edged up by 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter after surging by 4.4 percent in the third quarter. The Commerce Department noted increases in consumer spending and investment were partly offset by decreases in government spending and exports. The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index climbed by 0.4 percent in December after inching up by 0.2 percent in November.

The monthly increase by prices came as prices for goods grew by 0.4 percent and prices for services rose by 0.3 percent. The report also said the PCE price index in December was up by 2.9 percent compared to the same month a year ago, reflecting an uptick from 2.8 percent in November. The annual rate of growth was expected to remain unchanged.

The stock futures fell after President Donald Trump said he's raising his global tariffs to 15% from 10%, ensuring that overall trade policy uncertainty remains in place.

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