The Supreme Court shot down President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs on Friday.
It ruled in a 6-3 majority opinion that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give Trump the authority to set tariffs on a country-by-country basis.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the end of tariff uncertainty… If anything, it was just the end of the first inning. Trump responded by using another law – Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 – to slap on an across-the-board 10% tariff, which he raised to 15% the next day.
Under this law, the tariffs can only stay in place for up to 150 days unless Congress votes to extend them. With midterm elections taking place this year and tariffs remaining broadly unpopular with voters, that outcome seems unlikely.
What’s more, there are other tariff levers yet to be pulled…
Following formal investigations into unfair trade practices, Trump could potentially extend the 150-day tariffs into something more permanent, with or without Congress. But any decision regarding an extension is months away at the earliest.
So, what’s the takeaway from all of this?
Ignore the noise. Follow the system.
The tariff drama isn’t going away anytime soon.
There will be massive question marks lingering over the market for months, if not years. But as we saw last year, the stock market tends to absorb and discount the noise quickly.
If we had sat on our hands and stopped investing as soon as the tariff turbulence started last year, we would have missed out on some truly spectacular gains.
That’s why my advice following the Supreme Court decision is to ignore the noise. I’ve never met a successful investor who consistently made money trading headlines. But I’ve met plenty who amassed fortunes by building and following systematic strategies.
Now, let’s jump into last week’s market action.
Overall, it was a fantastic week. With the sole exception of consumer staples, every other sector was positive. But the strongest performer was the gritty industrials sector. The State Street Industrial Select Sector ETF (XLI) was up 2.6%, and the State Street Utilities Select Sector ETF (XLU) jumped 2.4%.
XLI is up over 14% so far in 2026, making it one of the best-performing sectors this year. The “old economy” is very much alive and well, and investors are recovering it after years of focusing almost exclusively on tech stocks.
Key Insights:
- Tariff drama will continue regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision.
- We should ignore it and focus on following well-designed trading systems.
- “Old economy” stocks continue to dominate in 2026.
Full Steam Ahead in Industrials
Let’s dig into those industrials…
I ran my customary screen of the biggest movers that were also still within 10% of their 52-week highs last week. The idea is to look for strong, market-leading stocks that are getting stronger.
Here’s what I came up with:
Some of the biggest winners happened to be in logistics and transportation companies. For example, C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD) and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) all had a fantastic week.
It’s a mistake to assume this is purely a result of the Supreme Court’s decision. While the prospect of lower tariffs and more international trade is clearly a plus, these stocks were all trending higher for the previous two weeks.
Remember, logistics stocks took a beating earlier this month due to a panic over potential AI disruption. That was a knee-jerk reaction, and the sector’s strength over the past two weeks is a result of investors stepping in to buy the dip.
Are there any potential gems to research here?
I’d point out that Expeditors International of Washington rates a solid “Bullish” on my Green Zone Power Ratings system – along with Comfort Systems USA (FIX) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII).
And if you happen to subscribe to my Green Zone Fortunes service, you’ll recognize Quanta Services (PWR). I initially recommended PWR in late 2021, and readers are now up more than 500%.
Now, let’s pivot to consumer staples…
I ran my customary screen of the sector’s biggest losers for the week that are still trading within 10% of their 52-week lows. The idea is to find a beaten-down gem that is poised to recover.
Unfortunately, there weren’t enough stocks to fill out the list, as most of the losers from last week were still well above their 52-week lows. So, I relaxed the criteria to give us more options.
This is what popped up on my screen:
Frankly, there’s not much to see here. While the sector as a whole is having a good year – up about 13% – none of the beaten-up stocks from last week rate well on my Green Zone Power Ratings system.
While the economy is still humming along nicely, most middle- and working-class consumers are still struggling amid this prolonged stretch of high inflation. As a result, that has taken a toll on the companies that serve them.
This will eventually change, of course. But in the meantime, my system is telling us that we need to look elsewhere.
To good profits,
Adam O’Dell
Editor, What My System Says Today
