Tariffs struck down, major volatility ahead? – North American session Market wrap for February 20

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Today's weekly close was surprisingly calm despite the groundbreaking news:

The infamous Trump tariffs officially got struck down by the US Supreme Court.

It has been a bumpy ride regarding US duties. Source of confusion and anxiety, Markets had originally reacted very pessimistically to their announcements, leading to a swift correction from beginning 2025 to Liberation Day.

Shortly after however, Stock Benchmarks rallied back in a hurry. Wall Street estimated that tariffs would not change the picture too much and would be more noise than actual global order change.

TACO trading became the norm and a very bullish one, as nations around the globe rushed to form trade deals with the highest global economy.

Still, they often were the source of debates, particularly among consumers and the Fed, as they brought resilient inflation back, somewhat hurting consumption and before anything, affecting global Supply Chains.

In May 2025, the US Court of International Trade had already ruled out tariffs which led to initial swift reactions before the Administration appealed, leading to today's decision.

Trump mentioned that he would be imposing temporary 150-day 10% levies on imports, using Section 122. Being officially imposed in the coming three days, expect a lot of international trade with US companies expected to rush to fill up their inventories over the weekend.

Traders will need to keep the week of the July 20th on the calendar, with the President and his legal team surely working to maintain his policies in the meantime.

Metals were the only decided winners of today's action, with Gold closing above $5,100 and Silver back above $84, levels that acted as major resistance during their recent consolidation phases.

Adding to geopolitical uncertainty for the weekend, US drama has fueled demand back towards the precious commodities.

The US Dollar retraced slightly but remains close to its highs. It looks poised for some downside if things remain as there currently are.

US Stocks also appreciated the news, however their reaction was contained and Indexes stand at a key inflexion point.

This brings us to a very essential trading session that will be awaiting Market Participants on Monday. The daily closes for all asset classes will be necessary to watch for the period ahead.

And of course, don't forget to track International developments over the weekend, particularly as military masses in the Middle East take us to a quite uncertain situation.

Read More:

• Nasdaq dominates as tariffs get cancelled – Dow Jones and US Index Outlook
• Silver (XAG/USD) rallies back above $80, more incoming? – Technical Outlook
• GBP/JPY marks a major top – Will it revert to 200.00? FX Technical Analysis

Reactions in US Equities were mostly positive after the Supreme Court announcement, particularly among major goods importers.

Tech and Electronic Hardware companies rebounded and led by Amazon, Meta and Google, as they are major importers and would profit from the latest developments.

As expressed in the introduction, metals really enjoyed the tariff announcements the most – Silver is the best performer, up around 7.50%.

European Stocks rebounded fairly, but overall the reactions remained quite contained, so expect much more movement towards next week.

FX action also remained very contained today, so keep track of major movers next week.

The US Dollar will be the leading the flows next week, hence watch what happens with the Dollar Index throughout next week.

Check out our (slightly outdated) in-depth analysis of the DXY right here.

Not much will be happening on the Economic Calendar over the weekend, so keep closely track of the Middle East and tariff developments.

Safe Trades!

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