European, Indian pharma stocks decline after Trump again threatens tariffs
US-USA-TRUMP-TARIFFS-PHARMACEUTICALS:European, Indian pharma stocks decline after Trump again threatens tariffs
By Ananta Agarwal and Kashish Tandon
-Drugmakers' stocks in Europe and India slipped on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated plans for a "major" tariff on all pharmaceutical imports and as "reciprocal" tariffs kicking in led to a further carnage in global markets.
A basket of European healthcare stocks fell 3.9% at 0717 GMT to its lowest since October 2022, leading losses among sectoral indexes on the region-wide STOXX 600, which was down 2.3%.
Shares of AstraZeneca, GSK, Roche, Sanofi, and Novartis were all down between 3.7% and 4.8% in Europe.
Meanwhile, Indian pharmaceutical stocks fell 1.29%, dragging down the benchmark Nifty 50 by about 0.51% as of 12:56 p.m. IST.
Trump has not said when and by how much he plans to raise taxes on pharma imports.
Trump had also threatened the duties on Friday, after his first set of reciprocal tariffs announced last week exempted pharma products a change in stance that had prompted a wild swing in pharma stocks.
The U.S. president has said that the tariffs will incentivize drug companies to move their operations to the U.S. However, analysts and companies have raised concerns about the difficulty in setting up manufacturing in the U.S.
"This is playing a lot on investors' sentiment and is an overhang until the time when announcement of the tariffs happens," said Shrikant Alkokar, equity analyst at Mumbai-based Nuvama Group.
Biocon, Glenmark Pharma and Aurobindo Pharma were the top losers by percentage on the pharma index in Mumbai, down between 2% and 4%.
India's pharma exports to the U.S. mostly comprise generics, or cheaper versions of popular drugs. These currently attract almost no U.S. levies, while India imposes about 10% tax on U.S. pharma imports, according to industry experts.
U.S. accounts for a third of India's overall pharma exports.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
