Wall Street stocks finished modestly higher on Thursday following strong earnings from Nvidia, as a judicial ruling added to uncertainty about US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Nvidia jumped 3.3 percent after reporting a mammoth US$18.8 billion in quarterly profits, even after a multi-billion dollar hit from US export controls.

Meanwhile, Trump's trade policies faced a new challenge when the US Court of International Trade blocked most of the duties the White House has announced.

An appeals court later issued a temporary suspension on the ruling while the litigation proceeds.

The Dow Jones finished up 0.3 percent at 42,215.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.4 percent to 5,912, while the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.4 percent to 19,175. (AFP)