The Nifty Pharma was among the top Nifty laggards on Wednesday, with the index falling 1.5% after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the US would eventually raise tariffs on pharmaceutical imports to 250%.
According to a Reuters report citing a CNBC interview, Trump said he would impose a “small tariff” on pharma imports, with plans to gradually increase it to 150% over the next 18 months and eventually to 250%, to push drugmakers to shift manufacturing back to the U.S.
This comes after Trump had earlier warned of potential tariffs of up to 200% on imported pharmaceuticals. However, he indicated the move would be delayed by 12 to 18 months.
At the time of writing, the Nifty Pharma index was down 1.32%. Barring Gland Pharma, every constituent of the index was trading in the red.
Ajanta Pharma, Zydus Life Sciences, and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals were the three biggest drags in terms of intraday declines, falling 2.12%, 2.08% and 2.07%, respectively.
Why It Matters
Pharmaceuticals make up a significant share of India’s exports to the U.S., with reports showing exports worth $8.7 billion in FY24, accounting for 11% of India’s total merchandise exports to the country.
Pharma stocks have been under heavy selling pressure ever since Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian exports, along with an unspecified ‘penalty’ due to India’s reliance on Russian energy and defense products. The Nifty Pharma index has shed more than 6% over the past week.
Earlier this week, Trump doubled down on his tariff proposals, criticising India’s purchase of large volumes of Russian oil and reselling it on the open market “for big profits.”
“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,” he wrote. “Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.”
Retail sentiment for Nifty Pharma on Stocktwits remained ‘bearish’. It was ‘neutral’ a week earlier.
Meanwhile, weak market sentiment weighed on Lupin’s stock, despite the pharma giant posting strong quarterly figures on Tuesday. Lupin’s shares were trading 0.46% lower at ₹1,856, despite posting a 52% jump in consolidated net profit to ₹1,221 crore and a 11% increase in revenue to ₹6,164 crore.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com<