If GIFT Nifty is any indicator of what lies ahead for the stock markets, investors can expect fireworks when trading resumes on Monday following the US Supreme Court’s Friday decision striking down Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. The GIFT Nifty settled 320 points, or 1.25% higher, at 25,886.

Investors should watch out for export-facing sectors like gems and jewellery, textiles, marine products and pharma, where the US administration had imposed a 100% tariff on patented and branded drugs, and the auto sector.

Kranthi Bathini, Director – Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities, called this a big sentiment booster for Indian markets while a blow to the Trump administration. His tariffs created a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity for the world, he added.

He, however, cautioned investors to watch the developments over the next few days and what the Trump administration will do as a “face saving” measure. He said that Trump weaponised tariffs and even the 10% global tariff must also be vetted by the US Congress. Since trade does not come under the purview of emergency measures, his follow-up decisions will also be subject to scrutiny, he opined.

Following the SC decision, Trump signed documents to impose a 10% tariff on imports from all countries, which he said will be “effective almost immediately.”

“It is my Great Honor to have just signed, from the Oval Office, a Global 10% Tariff on all Countries, which will be effective almost immediately,” he said in a post on Truth Social.

While the 18% tariff burden is likely off India’s back, more details will emerge in due course. But the new global tariff of 10% applies on Indian goods for now. An ANI report quoting a White House official said that India will have to pay 10% until another authority is invoked. “Yes, 10% until another authority is invoked.”Market veteran Gurmeet Chadha also welcomed the US Supreme Court’s decision, saying, “Supreme Court ruling on tariffs is welcome news especially for under-owned markets like India. This is also a political setback with midterms approaching and low approval ratings.”

“Focus will shift on boosting the economy, lowering inflation. Means lesser global uncertainty and flip-flops,” the Managing Partner and CIO at Complete Circle Consultants said in a tweet.

Also read: Trump made tariffs central to his presidency. Chaos may come next

SC ruling on India: what it means for markets?

“Removal of reciprocal tariffs will free about 55% of India’s exports to the US from 18% duty, leaving them subject only to standard MFN tariffs,” Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) analysis said, as reported.

According to the think tank, Section 232 tariffs will continue, 50% on steel and aluminium and 25% on auto components. Meanwhile, products accounting for roughly 40% of export value, including smartphones, petroleum products and medicines, will remain exempt from US tariffs, the report said further, citing the GTRI analysis.

So, investors should track movement of metal stocks for likely disappointment while monitoring the EMS and generic pharma space as well.

Reacting to the ruling, frontline indices on Wall Street also ended higher, with the Dow 30 closing with gains of 0.5%. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite finished with an uptick of 0.70% and 0.90%.

Also read: US Supreme Court ruling overturning Trump tariffs could spook bond vigilantes

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)

Gift Nifty surged nearly 400 points from its lows on Friday after the US Supreme Court struck down former President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, a move that has also triggered a rally in US equities. The US top court rejected Trump’s use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose broad-based tariffs, ruling against one of the most controversial assertions of executive authority in recent years.

The decision has significant implications for global trade flows and financial markets that have been grappling with tariff-related uncertainty. Following the ruling, Wall Street’s main indices rallied on Friday, with investors interpreting the decision as a potential reset for global trade tensions.

Trump had made tariffs a central pillar of his economic and foreign policy agenda. Shortly after beginning his second term, he imposed levies under emergency powers legislation originally designed for national crises.

In April, under what he termed “Liberation Day” tariffs, a baseline duty of 10% was slapped on all imports into the United States, along with additional country-specific tariffs ranging from 15% to 50%. While several of these were later renegotiated and reduced, the broader tariff framework had remained in place.

The tariffs were projected to generate trillions of dollars in revenue over the next decade. However, they also sparked a global trade war, strained ties with key trading partners and contributed to heightened volatility in global financial markets.

The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively dismantles the legal foundation for those sweeping levies. This development could be a potential turning point in global trade dynamics, especially for export-oriented economies and multinational corporations that had adjusted supply chains around the tariff regime.

For India, the ruling comes at a crucial time when broader markets have been facing volatility due to Fed uncertainty and slump in IT stocks. Earlier this month, India and the United States reached an interim trade understanding aimed at easing tariff tensions.Under that arrangement, the US agreed to lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18%, while India committed to reducing certain tariffs and non-tariff barriers on American imports. That agreement had already offered some relief to Indian markets, which had faced sustained pressure amid global trade uncertainties.

Now, with the broader tariff framework struck down, the landscape could shift again. It remains unclear how the US administration will respond and whether new trade measures could be introduced under different legal provisions.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest bid to force a deal on Greenland, this time by threatening steep tariffs on a cluster of NATO allies, has injected fresh uncertainty into global markets, potentially pushing investors toward gold and silver while raising short-term volatility risks for equities, including in India, even as longer-term trade opportunities quietly come into focus.

On Saturday, Trump said the U.S. would impose a 10% tariff from 1 February 2026 on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland, escalating the levy to 25% from 1 June if those countries refuse to negotiate the sale of Greenland, a Danish territory. The announcement, made in a social media post, marked Trump’s most aggressive attempt yet to pressure Europe over the strategically important Arctic island.

Tariffs as leverage

Trump said the tariffs would remain in place “until a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” arguing that U.S. control of the island is essential to counter Chinese and Russian ambitions in the Arctic. Denmark and its European allies have rejected those demands, triggering a rare show of unity among European leaders, who reacted with outrage on Saturday.

The threat also drew criticism from U.S. lawmakers, including some members of the president’s own party. Adding to the uncertainty, the U.S. Supreme Court is currently weighing whether to overturn the legal authority Trump has used to threaten tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. If the court rules against him, Trump may not be able to impose the new levies.

The proposed duties would likely be imposed on top of existing tariffs, currently 10% on British imports and 15% on imports from the European Union, raising questions about retaliation and the broader impact on global trade. While tariffs are paid by importers, the costs are often passed on to American consumers, complicating the inflation outlook.

Safe havens back in demand?

For investors, the immediate reaction has been a renewed bid for safe-haven assets. Market participants say the Greenland tariff threat risks escalating geopolitical tensions, a backdrop that tends to support precious metals.

Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst of Commodity and Currency at LKP Securities, said gold has remained resilient amid a mix of global flashpoints. “Gold traded in a flat-to-positive range, holding firm near Rs 1,43,150 in MCX and around $4,605 on Comex, as prices comfortably sustained above the $4,600 mark,” he said.

“Ongoing geopolitical uncertainty between the U.S. and Iran continues to lend support, even as Washington indicated no immediate military intervention if Iran refrains from escalating actions,” Trivedi added. “However, the situation remains fluid with additional global flashpoints, including renewed strategic focus on Greenland, keeping risk sentiment elevated.”In such an environment, he said, gold continues to attract “premium safe-haven demand as an alternative to the dollar,” with prices expected to remain volatile in a broad range of Rs 1,41,000–Rs 1,45,000 in the near term as markets approach the U.S. Federal Reserve’s January policy meeting. Silver, often tracking gold during periods of heightened uncertainty, is also expected to stay sensitive to geopolitical developments.

India: Volatility now, opportunity later?

For Indian equities, the implications are more mixed. Market experts expect near-term volatility if Trump’s tariff threats spill into a wider trade conflict, but see potential long-term positives emerging from the disruption.

According to analysts, the standoff could accelerate negotiations on a long-pending India–EU Free Trade Agreement, with talks already in their final stages. After Trump’s tariff threats against European countries, the EU and India are expected to push to finalise a concrete deal. Over time, such an agreement could boost India’s economy across sectors, including pharmaceuticals, textiles, gems and jewellery, steel and metals, automobiles, solar equipment and leather.

Indian markets ended this week on a cautiously positive note despite global uncertainty. The Sensex rose 188 points, or 0.23%, on Friday to close at 83,570.35, while the Nifty gained 29 points, or 0.11%, to end at 25,694.35, snapping a two-session losing streak. The recovery was led by strong buying in IT and banking stocks, with Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra among the top gainers.

Earnings, data and global cues ahead

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said investor sentiment has been swinging between optimism and caution. “Indian equities ended the week with marginal gains, as sentiments oscillated between optimism over renewed India–US trade discussions and caution stemming from persistent geopolitical tensions,” he said, noting that prolonged global tensions have made foreign institutional investors more risk-averse toward emerging markets and added upward pressure on bond yields.

Looking ahead, Nair said market sentiment would be shaped by global macro indicators such as U.S. PCE inflation, GDP data and jobless claims, which will offer cues on the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook. Domestically, PMI readings, corporate earnings and management commentary will be closely watched.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)

Wall Street’s main indexes inched higher in choppy trading on Monday, with some heavyweight tech stocks rebounding from last week’s rout, while investors braced for a barrage of economic data that could set the course for interest rates.

Traders also got more clarity on candidates for the post of Federal Reserve chair next year as U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a report, said he narrowed his search to former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh or National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.

Expectations for a dovish Fed chair have fueled hopes for interest rate cuts next year, even as inflation remains above the 2% target and persistent price pressures in other developed markets strengthen calls for a rate hike.

At 09:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 108.61 points, or 0.20%, to 48,557.21. The S&P 500 gained 22.44 points, or 0.33%, to 6,849.85, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 91.15 points, or 0.39%, to 23,286.32.

Of the 11 S&P 500 sectors, 10 were trading higher, with consumer discretionary up 1%, boosted by a 4.5% jump in Tesla.

AI chip giant Nvidia rose 1.1% and is set to snap a four-day losing streak, if gains hold. A broader index of chip stocks climbed 1.2%.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had logged their steepest daily declines in more than three weeks on Friday, as worries of sticky inflation and debt-fueled AI investments pulled the indexes further away from record highs.These concerns have weighed on U.S. equities several times over the past three months, helping Europe’s STOXX 600 outperform the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 on a quarterly basis.

PLETHORA OF DATA THIS WEEK

The nonfarm payrolls figures for October and November are due on Tuesday. The October data was delayed by the government shutdown earlier this quarter.

Reports on business activity, weekly jobless claims and inflation, due later this week, will also be monitored as investors seek fresh clues on the economy’s resilience and the Fed’s next policy moves. Rate calls from Europe, the UK and Japan will add to a crowded central-bank calendar.

“With the Fed still appearing to be more focused on labor-market weakness than inflation, we’re likely facing a ‘bad news is good’ scenario for the jobs report,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley.

A string of Fed officials are due to make remarks throughout the week, starting with Fed Governor Stephen Miran. The permanent voting member, as seen as on the dovish side, argued that current inflation does not reflect true supply-demand dynamics.

Among other stocks, ServiceNow slid 7.9% after a report said the cybersecurity company is in advanced talks to buy startup Armis.

IRobot slumped 68.5% after the Roomba vacuum-cleaner maker filed for bankruptcy protection.

Investors also monitored developments around plans to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.59-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.57-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 65 new highs and 42 new lows.

Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped to a one-week low on Thursday as fresh worries over Oracle’s hefty AI spending plans overshadowed optimism over a less hawkish tone from the Federal Reserve.

Oracle plunged 14% after its quarterly forecasts fell short of analysts’ estimates and the company raised its annual spending forecasts, reigniting worries that the pace of profitability for artificial intelligence companies was not as fast as expected.

The cost of insuring against the cloud company defaulting surged, with shares on track for their biggest quarterly loss since mid-2002 on worries that heavy reliance on debt financing could fuel an AI bubble similar to the dotcom bust of the early 2000s.

“Oracle has been the poster child for volatility and that will continue. The spending itself is a stand-alone issue and part of the CapEx is a bit opaque,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth.

Technology led declines among S&P 500 sectors with a 1.6% drop, while an index tracking chips fell 2% as heavyweight Nvidia slid 3.1%.

Other AI infrastructure companies such as CoreWeave fell 5.7%, while Applied Digital and Nebius lost 3.6% and 4.4%, respectively.

At 9:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 291.76 points, or 0.61%, to 48,350.89, the S&P 500 lost 30.79 points, or 0.45%, to 6,855.89 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 233.46 points, or 0.99%, to 23,421.95.Wall Street’s fear gauge, the CBOE volatility index, rose 0.33 points to 16.1.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve lowered borrowing costs by 25 basis points as expected on Wednesday. Although Chair Jerome Powell signaled a pause on further easing, investors were relieved that rate hikes were not on the horizon, at a time when markets expect higher interest rates in other developed economies by the end of 2026.

Traders see at least 50 bps of monetary easing next year on expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump’s appointee to the Fed Chair will likely be a policy dove. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett is the front-runner for the job.

The Russell 2000 index tracking rate-sensitive small caps outperformed broader markets and was up 0.6%, while the price-weighted blue-chip Dow got a lift from a 1.4% rise in shares of Goldman Sachs.

Data from the Labor Department showed jobless claims rose 236,000 for the week ending December 6, compared to estimates of 220,000.

Among others, Walt Disney gained 2% after the streaming firm said it will make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI. AI bubble concerns also hurt crypto stocks such as Strategy , which lost 3.3%, and Bit Digital, which fell 3.1% as bitcoin briefly slipped below $90,000.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.98-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.12-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 32 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 83 new highs and 38 new lows.

Wall Street stocks were little changed early Wednesday as markets traded cautiously ahead of a US Federal Reserve decision expected to showcase the central bank’s expectations for 2026 monetary policy.

While the Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates for a third straight time, some investors are girding for a “hawkish cut” in which Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggests the central bank will pause at upcoming meetings.

A hawkish posture “would be disappointing to the markets,” said Spartan Capital’s Peter Cardillo.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 percent at 47,593.14.

The broad-based S&P 500 was flat at 6,842.85, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent to 23,557.73.

Among individual companies, GE Vernova shot up more than 15 percent after lifting its financial forecast and its share repurchase authorization.

Oracle dipped 0.4 percent ahead of its earnings report later Wednesday. The company’s prior earnings statement showed a huge increase in artificial intelligence-related work.

Wall Street’s main indexes fluctuated between small gains and losses on Thursday as investors analyzed a fresh round of labor market data to fine-tune expectations for a much-anticipated Federal Reserve rate cut next week.

With November’s official payrolls report due after the Fed’s December meeting, traders have turned to a patchwork of secondary indicators that offer a conflicting read on the jobs market.

A weekly Labor Department report showed new jobless claims fell to their lowest level in more than three years, even as a Chicago Fed estimate suggested the unemployment rate held near 4.4% in November.

Fed funds futures point to a nearly 90% chance that the central bank will cut rates by 25 basis points this month, up from around 60% last month, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

“Today the data is a little bit better, but there’s no catalyst there to the upside,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital LLC.

“Good data is not going to encourage the Fed to cut more. So this one is a little better than expectations, but not so much better that you get nervous about them following through with the cut next week.”Investors were also exercising caution ahead of Friday’s September Personal Consumption Expenditures report, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge and the first PCE release since the recent U.S. government shutdown left markets and policymakers with limited visibility on the economy.At 9:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 21.23 points, or 0.04%, at 47,861.43, the S&P 500 rose 0.27 points, or less than 0.1%, at 6,849.41 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 16.45 points, or 0.07%, at 23,434.05.

The consumer services sector outpaced the S&P’s 10 other sub-sectors, buoyed by a 3.6% rise in Meta after a report said the tech giant planned to cut up to 30% from its Metaverse budget.

Traders were also watching developments around U.S. President Donald Trump’s selection of the next Federal Reserve chair, in a year of heightened concern over potential political interference in monetary policy.

A report said bond investors have expressed concerns to the U.S. Treasury that Kevin Hassett, a leading contender for the role, might pursue aggressive rate cuts to align monetary policy more closely with President Donald Trump’s preferences.

Snowflake fell 11% after the cloud data analytics company’s fourth-quarter product revenue forecast came in below lofty investor expectations for stronger growth.

Hormel Foods climbed 4.7% after the Skippy peanut butter maker forecast annual profit above estimates, while Dollar General rose 7% after the discount retailer raised its annual profit forecast.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.06-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.21-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 26 new highs and 15 new lows.

U.S. stocks opened with gains on the final trading day of November.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and needs a slightly larger gain to avoid its first down month since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 138 points, and the Nasdaq gained 0.3%.

Coinbase Global added 3.6% as bitcoin rose above $92,000 after dropping to around $81,000 last week. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency is still well below its all-time high of around $125,000 set in early October.

Most tech stocks posted gains, with Meta Platforms rising 1.4% and Micron Technology adding 2.8%. But Nvidia, the market’s most valuable stock, fell 1% and is headed for a double-digit loss for the month. Oracle another high-flyer that struggled this month, fell 2.3%.

Wall Street is operating on an abbreviated schedule Friday after being closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Stock trading closes at 1 p.m. ET.

Earlier, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were halted for hours due to a technical issue at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. CME said the problem was tied to an outage at a CyrusOne data center.After slumping earlier this month as investors worried that many of the tech stocks that were propelled higher by the frenzy over artificial intelligence, stocks have risen for four straight trading sessions on hopes the Federal Reserve will again cut interest rates at its meeting next month.Recent comments from Federal Reserve officials have given traders more confidence the central bank will again cut interest rates at its meeting that ends Dec. 10. Traders are betting on a nearly 87% probability that the Fed will cut next month, according to data from CME Group.

The central bank, which has already cut rates twice this year in hopes of shoring up the slowing job market, is facing an increasingly difficult decision on interest rates as inflation rises and the job market slows. Cutting interest rates further could help support the economy as employment weakens, but it could also fuel inflation. The latest round of corporate earnings reports was mostly positive, but economic data has been mixed.

The minutes of the Fed’s most recent meeting in October indicate there are likely to be strong divisions among policymakers about the Fed’s next step.

Treasury yields held mostly steady, with the 10-year yield at 4.01%.

Wall Street’s main indexes opened higher on Monday, with risk sentiment aided by signs of progress in Washington to end a record U.S. government shutdown that has stalled economic data releases and intensified concerns over the state of the economy.The Dow Jones gained 237.58 points or 0.51% to close at 47,224.68, the S&P 500 rose 68.62 points or 1.02% to 6,797.43, while the Nasdaq advanced 382.25 points or 1.66% to 23,386.79.

Wall Street’s main indexes opened flat on Tuesday, as investors assessed a wave of quarterly earnings from corporate majors.At 09:30 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 13.17 points, or 0.03%, to 46,719.75. The S&P 500 gained 2.85 points, or 0.04%, to 6,737.98, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 9.71 points, or 0.04%, to 22,980.83.