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NEW YORK/SINGAPORE, May 29 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq held modest gains on Thursday,

coming off their highs for the day, while the Dow slipped, as

investors digested a U.S. federal court blocked President Donald

Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs from going into effect. The

dollar, however, turned lower against its safe-haven peers such

as the yen and Swiss franc as investors braced for a battle over

these tariffs that will create more uncertainty and volatility.

The Trump administration has appealed the ruling.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.3% to 5,903.81 points, while

the U.S. dollar fell against both the yen and Swiss franc to

144.11 yen, and 0.8229 franc.

Here are quotes from market analysts:

UTO SHINOHARA, SENIOR INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, MESIROW

CURRENCY MANAGEMENT, CHICAGO

"The market's reaction to the court ruling served as a

microcosm of the broader uncertainty currently gripping

investors. News continues to exert a push-and-pull effect on

sentiment, but the deeper issue remains a persistent lack of

clarity surrounding trade policy."

"Initially, the ruling pushed the dollar higher,

consistent with recent patterns where lower tariffs have

coincided with dollar strength. This behavior runs counter to

the traditional assumption that tariffs and currency strength

move in tandem. Instead, the dollar's rally appeared to reflect

a more supportive growth outlook and a rotation back into US

assets following the post-Liberation Day selloff."

"However, gains in the dollar faded as markets began to

price in the prospect of a prolonged tariff dispute. The pending

appeal, either restoring confidence in institutional checks and

balances or further undermining it, alongside alternative legal

paths for imposing tariffs which typically involve longer

investigative timelines, all contribute to continued

uncertainty."

KATHLEEN BROOKS, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, XTB, UK (EMAILED

COMMENTS)

"Tariff uncertainty has not been reduced by this court

ruling, it is unlikely to boost consumer sentiment or business

confidence, and it may weigh on hiring. Tariffs are now a fact

of life, and they will continue to weigh on the global

macro-outlook for some time, which is why the post court ruling

stock market rally was always going to run out of stream."

"The bounce higher in the U.S. dollar has also come to an

end, and the dollar index is back below 100.00 and is lower on

the day. There has also been a turnaround in bond yields.

Initially, bond yields jumped as investors rushed to price in a

positive boost to global growth from the court ruling, and the

impact from reduced tariff levies on the US fiscal deficit.

However, as we move through the day, the focus is now on signs

of stress in the US economy, which is having a moderating impact

on bond yields."

BRAD BECHTEL, GLOBAL HEAD OF FX, JEFFERIES, NEW YORK

There was "definitely a little bit of a dollar rally on the

back of the court ruling overnight, but I think markets were

quick to realize that the ruling was sort of narrow, meaning it

was only focused on one aspect of the tariff plan here -

emergency authorization."

"There were still plenty of other avenues for Trump to kind

of do his thing on the tariff side, and that's why the dollar

gave up some of its gains."

BRIAN JACOBSEN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ANNEX WEALTH MANAGEMENT,

MENOMONEE FALLS, WISCONSIN

"It's always too early to turn off the news feed. The court

striking down Trump's tariffs is more than just a speedbump.

While President Trump can appeal the ruling or try to side-step

it, those options are limited and may end up giving the same

result. Stock markets like the ruling. Bond markets might not

like it quite as much. Although the tariffs couldn't technically

count in the scoring of the budget bill, bond investors were

still counting the revenue. The net effect is to make extending

and expanding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act more costly."

JON WITHAAR, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, PICTET ASSET

MANAGEMENT, SINGAPORE

"We are now at a point where many of the cautious investors

who went underweight post Liberation Day are being forced back

into markets, or stopped in, by the strong performance and the

risk of missing out.

"We are maintaining a cautious but positive approach based

around the idea that the eventual outcome for Asian based

companies will not be a bad as initially feared."

PRASHANT NEWNAHA, SENIOR ASIA-PACIFIC RATES STRATEGIST, TD

SECURITIES

"The knee-jerk reaction for equities to rally and bond

yields to back up on the tariff pause makes sense.

"However, with tariffs now in the appeal process and likely

heading to the Supreme Court, uncertainty is back. Expect to see

this lead to delays in investment and hiring. The pause also

puts tariff revenue at risk which could bring deficit issues

back on the radar. This should drive yields higher."

KEI OKAMURA, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, NEUBERGER BERMAN, TOKYO

"This ruling doesn't apply to Trump's sector-specific

tariffs like autos and semiconductors, so for Japan

specifically, it's a fairly neutral event.

"At the same time, we have this action by the U.S. judicial

system to keep the administration's powers in check. The

administration is increasingly coming at odds with the courts.

This is going to continue to come up as an issue, and creates a

lot of uncertainties.

"What companies need is direction, whether it's positive or

negative. This stop-and-go is not helpful for businesses that

need to make decisions that can take several years, even a

decade, to implement.

"For central banks, this development just reinforces their

wait-and-see stance."

KYLE RODDA, SENIOR FINANCIAL MARKET ANALYST, CAPITAL.COM,

MELBOURNE

"It's massive news. It's long been suggested that the

emergency powers Trump has used to implement tariffs were

unconstitutional and that the power to enact tariffs sits with

Congress."

"It sets up a battle that will likely end up the Supreme

Court now. It's a situation fraught with danger because the

administration may ignore the court's ruling, potentially

placing greater strain on U.S. institutions at a time of

increased stress."

"However, should the markets get their way, the courts could

delay and then deny these tariffs, removing one massive risk and

undoubtedly stoking risk appetite."

SHOKI OMORI, CHIEF DESK STRATEGIST, MIZUHO SECURITIES,

TOKYO

"Initial reaction will be risk-on for risk assets such as

equities. It's likely that we will see people buying USD as a

funding currency expecting that global trade will re-ramp up."

"Given that trade talks have gone this far, (the United

States) won't let countries go back to the pre-Trump era."

However, "it is good news that courts started to fight back

against executive orders under rule of law."

FRANCES CHEUNG, HEAD OF FX AND RATES STRATEGY, OCBC,

SINGAPORE

"For bonds and FX, the timing is convenient for an extension

of the most recent trading momentum, where the dollar has

already shown signs of rebounding and long-end bond yields have

been facing upward pressure.

"That said, development on tariff and trade relations

remains fluid. Investors may be reluctant to load heavy

positions on either side of the trade."

GARY NG, SENIOR ECONOMIST, NATIXIS, HONG KONG

"The decision will fuel temporary risk-on sentiment in

equities and lower bond yields as the market dials back

inflation expectations driven by tariffs.

"However, this is not the end of the tariff story. There is

no clarity as the legal battle will continue and it does not

change the fact that Trump will find ways to reshape

global trade order."

YUNOSUKE IKEDA, HEAD OF MACRO RESEARCH, NOMURA, TOKYO

"At this point it's almost impossible to know if the tariffs

will be completely unwound by this. But in the hypothetical

situation that they are, it's natural to see dollar

appreciation. Basically Trump's tariffs will lead to stagflation

pressure on the U.S. economy, so reversing those tariffs would

be a positive for the dollar."

CHARU CHANANA, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, SAXO,

SINGAPORE

"The ruling removes an immediate overhang, even if it is not

the final word on tariffs. Trump may still have scope to appeal

or impose narrower, sector-specific tariffs, so policy

uncertainty lingers.

"While the court ruling is a marginal positive for sentiment

and helps to clear out the most bearish growth outlook bets, it

does not remove uncertainty. Businesses still don't have

clarity, and the policy path remains fluid.

We could see the market unwinding some of the tariff-related

moves, such as the weaker USD and Gold, EUR, JPY and EM FX could

pull back. Short-end yields may rise as recession fears ease."

MATT SIMPSON, SENIOR MARKET ANALYST, CITY INDEX, BRISBANE

"It seems inevitable the Supreme Court will be ordered to

weigh in on this one, which makes today's news more of a

speedbump than a full-drawn conclusion. But for now, investors

get a breather from the economic uncertainty they love to

loathe."

RAY ATTRILL, HEAD OF FX STRATEGY, NAB, SYDNEY

"The assumption is that the tariffs that have been announced

and are in place will stay in place... Our assumption is President

Trump will appeal this trade court's decision and he has the

right to appeal... And then it will be up to the federal court

and what happens there? I have no idea. So this may be an

absolute storm in a teacup or potentially something more

significant.

"I think it's way premature basically to say that this has

the potential to reverse a lot of the moves that we've seen in

the last couple of months."