Asian equities boosted by US court's tariff ruling

HONG KONG, May 29 (AFP): Asian stocks rallied with US futures Thursday after a US court blocked Donald Trump's sweeping global tariff blitz, dealing a hefty blow to the president's signature trade policy and providing some much-needed relief.

The ruling provided an extra shot in the arm for investors already upbeat after forecast-busting earnings from chip titan Nvidia revived optimism about the tech sector.

And while the White House has appealed against the decision, analysts said traders were making the most of

the buying opportunity on hopes the levies will not be imposed.

After hearing cases brought by businesses and a coalition of state governments, the three-judge Court of International Trade agreed that the president's actions violated the power of the purse given to Congress under the constitution.

The White House slammed the ruling by "unelected judges".

The news revived risk appetite among investors, who remain anxious despite slowly recovering from the shellshock of the president's April 2 "Liberation Day" tariffs that fanned fears of a global recession.

Markets in Japan and South Korea-major exporters who faced huge tariffs-surged more than one percent thanks to rallies in tech firms and auto makers.

Seoul was also helped by a central bank interest rate cut.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei and Manila were also higher, while the futures for all three main indexes in New York piled on more than one percent each.

The gains were helped by a rally in tech firms that came after Nvidia reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, even as it faced increased export controls that it warned could cost it billions in the current quarter.