S&P 500 climbs on strong Nvidia earnings, but trade policy confusion caps gains: Live updates

The S&P 500 rose Thursday, led by Nvidia. But gains were restricted, with investors cautious following a salvo of judicial developments surrounding President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs.

The broad index ended the day higher by 0.4% at 5,912.17 despite climbing as much as 0.9%. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.39% to 19,175.87, also well off its highest intraday gain of 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 117.03 points, or 0.28%, to finish at 42,215.73.

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled on Wednesday night that Trump overstepped his authority when he imposed his “reciprocal” tariffs. The court ordered that the challenged tariff orders be vacated.

But the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal quickly following the judgment and an appeals court reinstated the levies on Thursday afternoon. The administration said it could ask the Supreme Court as early as Friday to pause the federal court’s original ruling if necessary.

Trump’s on-again-off-again levy policy, as well as inflation fears fueled by the prospect of the tariffs, roiled markets last month. Some companies have also pointed to the duties when dialing back their forecasts and noted uncertainty around trade policy and the impact on the consumer.

“In general, markets don’t like uncertainty, because it makes forecasting more difficult,” said Larry Tentarelli, founder of the Blue Chip Daily Trend Report. “We expect the tariff news cycle to be an extended process, which can lead to higher short-term volatility.”

Still, Nvidia shares provided upward market momentum with a jump of more than 3%. The chipmaker exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines in the first quarter, as its data center business recorded year-over-year growth of 73%.

Nvidia’s strong report “can rejuvenate investor optimism across the board and help investors to focus on the power of AI and less on headlines out of Washington on tariffs and taxes,” said James Demmert, chief investment officer of Main Street Research.

The major U.S. indexes are on track to close the week — and month — higher. The S&P 500 and 30-stock Dow are up 1.9% and 1.5% this week, respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 2.3%.

This month, the S&P 500 has gained 6.2%. The Dow has added 3.8%, while the Nasdaq has jumped close to 10%.