Stock Market Live May 29: Trump Tariffs Terminated, S&P 500 (VOO) Soars
Key Points
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A U.S. trade court ordered the Trump Administration last night to repeal reciprocal tariffs announced April 2.
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Nvidia reported Q1 earnings of $0.81 per share last night, below expectations, but its sales were$44.1 billion, more than expected.
Live Updates
Voo Ends in the Green
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF closed at 542.32 Thursday, up 0.4%.
What to Expect from Oil
In energy news, the latest data on oil is bullish for investors in the industry. Crude inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels last week, versus consensus forecasts for inventories to rise. Gasoline inventories fell by 2.4 million barrels, also contrary to expectations.
OilPrice.com is showing WTI crude prices down 1.1% at $61 and change today, but you can probably expect this data to help push prices back higher soon.
Northrop Warms Up to Firefly
S&P 500 component company Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC | NOC Price Prediction) just announced it will invest $50 million in privately-held space company Firefly Aerospace. The companies are jointly developing a new medium-launch rocket.
Previously called just the “Medium Launch Vehicle” or MLV, the rocket now has a more colorful name: “Eclipse.”
The Future for Tariffs
The U.S. Court of International Trade won’t have the final word on President Trump’s tariffs, of course. For one thing, the Court has given the President 10 days to make any changes necessary to its executive orders, to bring them into compliance with its ruling.
For another, the Trump Administration has already appealed the court’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit — and experts anticipate this dispute could (read “definitely will”) end up before the U.S. Supreme Court in the end.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
In a shocking development last night, the U.S. Court of International Trade declared President Trump’s April 2 “reciprocal tariffs” against scores of other countries illegal, and ordered that they be dropped. The President, ruled a three-judge panel, exceeded his authority “to regulate importation by means of tariffs” under the 1977 International Emergency Powers Act. His specific tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China fail “because they do not deal with the [fentanyl] threats set forth in those orders.”
Tariffs on aluminum and steel imports remain in place.
Investors responded by bidding up the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) 0.8% premarket.
Earnings
Adding to investor optimism this morning was a mixed earnings report from S&P 500 component company Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) last night, which investors are viewing as half-full rather than half empty. On the one hand, the semiconductors giant missed earnings forecasts for $0.93 per share, reporting adjusted profits of only $0.81. On the other hand, the company’s Q1 sales were $44.1 billion, ahead of forecasts for $43.25 billion.
Nvidia also guided investors to expect $45 billion in Q2 revenue, below forecasts for $45.66 billion.
A second S&P 500 component company, Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) reported mixed earnings this morning, and this time it was an earnings beat but a sales miss. Best Buy earned $1.15 per share in Q1 2025, versus $1.09 expected. Sales were just under the $8.8 billion expected however.
Analyst Calls
Nearly a dozen separate analysts are hiking price targets on Nvidia stock this morning, most with “buy” or “overweight” ratings. Citigroup sighed with relief that Nvidia managed to beat sales expectations despite being faced with the “hurdle of the China H20 ban,” and raised its price target 20% to $180 a share. Melius Research pointed out that, not counting China, Nvidia’s revenue guidance for Q2 is about $2 billion to $3 billion more than it expected.
Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
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