Asia stocks rise on Trump tariff block; tech boosted by Nvidia cheer

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Thursday as investors cheered a court ruling against U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal trade tariffs, with technology shares upbeat following positive earnings from Nvidia. 

Regional shares rose tracking a rally in U.S. stock futures, which extended gains into Asian trade after the court ruling. S&P 500 Futures jumped 1.6%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rallied as much as 2% on aftermarket gains in tech stocks. 

An interest rate cut and dovish comments from the Bank of Korea also boosted Asian risk appetite, with South Korean stocks vastly outpacing their peers.

Court blocks Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariffs 

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled on Wednesday that Trump could not proceed with his plans for steep, reciprocal tariffs against major economies, on the grounds that he overstepped his authority. 

The court ruled that the Carter-era International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which was invoked by Trump to carry out a bulk of his tariff agenda, gave the president insufficient oversight to impose sweeping tariffs.

The ruling drummed up hopes that Trump will not be able to proceed with his tariff agenda, although reports said the White House intended to appeal the decision.

Analysts also argued that the ruling could add to uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs, given that any overturning of the ruling opens the door for Trump to impose more trade duties. 

“The ruling will obviously throw into disarray the administration’s push to quickly seal trade “deals” during the 90-day pause from tariffs that have now been declared to be illegal,” Capital Economics analysts wrote in a note. 

Trump had unveiled sweeping trade tariffs against major economies in early April, an event he called “liberation day.” But he had shortly after postponed most of the tariffs by 90 days, offering the targeted countries time to strike trade deals with Washington. 

China, however, was subjected to the full brunt of Trump’s tariffs, which went as high as 245% before some deescalation in early-May. 

China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rose 0.8% each, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.5%. Gains in Chinese markets were held back by persistent concerns over deflation and slowing economic growth in the country. 

Asian tech stocks rise on Nvidia cheer 

Tech-heavy Asian bourses were the best performers on Thursday, tracking positive earnings from AI bellwether NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA). While the company did flag some headwinds from more restrictions on its Chinese sales, its first-quarter earnings beat helped spur increased optimism over demand for AI.

South Korea’s KOSPI was the top performer in Asia, rallying over 1.7% on gains in chipmaking giants Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) and SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660), who are both Nvidia suppliers.

Taiwan’s TSMC (TW:2330) rose 0.6%, while Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (TW:2317) surged 3.6% after it flagged an upbeat outlook for 2025. 

South Korean stocks were also buoyed by a 25 basis point interest rate cut by the Bank of Korea, with the central bank also presenting a dovish outlook. 

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.8% on gains in tech stocks, while the broader TOPIX index added 1.5%. 

Other Asian markets were mostly positive, although indexes with lower tech weightage lagged. Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.3%, while Singapore’s Straits Times index shed 0.2%. 

Gift Nifty 50 futures for India’s Nifty 50 index rose 0.4%, pointing to a strong open for the index after it clocked two straight sessions of losses.