Pfizer, Amgen, Johnson & Johnson, others drop at US market open amid Trump’s US pharma tariff fears

US Markets Today: Pharmaceutical sector stocks fell at Wall Street open on Wednesday, April 9, after fear over the upcoming US tariffs on pharma imports spooked investors amid a raging trade war between the United States and other world nations.

Stocks like Pfizer, Amgen, Johnson & Johnson, and Eli Lilly & Co. were among others which opened lower after the US stock market opened on Wednesday. 

Pharma Stocks

Pfizer Inc. shares are currently trading 2.56 per cent lower at $21.31 as of 10:11 a.m. (EDT), compared to $21.84 at the previous US market close. The shares opened lower at $21.11 apiece.

Johnson & Johnson shares are trading 2.37 per cent down at $146.45 after it opened lower at ₹142.20, compared to $150 at the previous market close.

Amgen stock was trading 2.48 per cent lower at $273.23 in the early market session on the Nasdaq index, compared to $280.26 at the previous close. The stock opened lower at $268.91 on Wall Street.

Eli Lilly & Co. shares were down more than 3 per cent at $701.25, compared to $726.24 at the previous close. The stock was trading lower than its opening level of $704.40 on Wednesday's early market session. 

Merck & Co. Inc. shares also dropped over 3 per cent, currently trading at $76.61, compared to $78.95 at the previous close. The multinational pharmaceutical company's shares opened lower at $76.76.

Wall Street Today

At 9:30 a.m. (EDT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) opened 0.68 per cent lower at 37,387.91 points, compared to 37,645.59 points at the previous stock market close.

The Dow was trading 0.14 per cent higher in the early market session on Wall Street at 37,708 points.

The S&P 500 index dropped 0.35 per cent to open at 4,965.28 points​, compared to 4,982.77 points at the previous stock market close. The index is currently trading 0.52 per cent higher on Wall Street.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.18 per cent to 15,295.441 points, compared to 15,267.91 points at the previous market close. The New York-based index was trading 1.5 per cent higher in the early market session, Marketwatch data shows. 

Trump Pharma Tariffs

Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, April 8, that the United States will soon impose a “major” tariff on pharmaceutical imports into the Western nation amid the ongoing tariff war.

“We're gonna tariff our pharmaceuticals ... we're going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals,” said President Donald Trump in his address.

So far, the pharmaceuticals sector has been exempted from the tariffs which were announced last week, but now, as the US plans to impose a duty on drug imports into the nation, investors have become cautious about the pharma stock in the US.

Pharma companies worldwide depend on the supply of their raw materials from foreign nations, and US Big Pharmaceutical companies are no exception.

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