Global Markets Mixed After Pharmaceutical, Trucks Tariffs Announcement

By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

It was a mixed picture across global stock markets Friday after a third straight day of falls on Wall Street. Asian bourses ended down, European markets started the day higher and U.S. stock futures were a touch higher. Investors were responding to President Trump's announcement of new tariffs on pharmaceutical companies and big-truck makers, with those sectors under broad selling pressure. On the economic front, the final estimate of second-quarter U.S. GDP growth came in stronger than expected on Thursday, with Friday's figures for August PCE inflation, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, now in focus.

--Most big pharma stocks were down in Asia and Europe after President Trump announced new tariffs on drugs from companies that aren't building plants in the U.S. "Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America, " Trump posted on Truth Social. It was unclear how branded or patented pharmaceutical products will be defined, and many of the biggest pharma companies have announced new construction in the U.S. recently.

--In Asian trading, Japan's Sumitomo Pharma, Chugai Pharmaceutical and Daiichi Sankyo declined 5.1%, 2.8% and 2.0%, respectively. Chinese pharma companies were among the biggest losers on Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which closed down 1.3%. In Europe shortly after the open, Novo Nordisk and Bayer fell 2.1%, GSK fell 0.9% and AstraZeneca was down 1.0%. Some of those losses were pared a little later.

--President Trump's announcement of 25% tariffs on imported heavy trucks was light on detail, but Daimler Truck could suffer the most given current production in the U.S. and overall exposure to the U.S. at the group level, Bernstein analysts wrote. Its shares fell 3.2% at the open. They note the tariffs apply from Oct. 1, so they won't impact the third quarter. Traton shares were down 2.1% in early trade, Iveco was near flat while Volvo Trucks rose; it already produces trucks for the U.S. market in the U.S.

--Meanwhile, U.S. futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.1% and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.2% and Nasdaq futures were up 0.1%.

--Long-dated U.S. Treasury yields edged higher after better-than-expected U.S. macro data. PCE inflation data comes 0830 ET. The 10-year Treasury yield drifted 0.7 basis point higher to 4.180%, while the 30-year yield was up 1.4 basis points at 4.766%, according to Tradeweb.

--The U.S. dollar turned lower after Trump announced the new round of tariffs, having jumped to a three-week high against a basket of currencies earlier on Thursday. Trump's "erratic trade policy is doing much to dampen consumer sentiment," said Commerzbank analyst Michael Pfister. The DXY dollar index was last down 0.2% to 98.409 after hitting a high of 98.605 on Thursday. Bitcoin steadied after sliding to a three-week low the previous day.

--Gold prices ticked higher and were on track for a weekly gain of 1.9%. Oil prices were also on track for a weekly gain following, buoyed by Russia's plans to temporarily ban diesel exports from resellers and extend its gasoline-export ban amid Ukrainian drone strikes against refineries. In early trade, Brent crude ticked 0.1% higher to $68.66 a barrel, while WTI was up 0.2% to $65.13 a barrel. Copper futures fell 0.5%.

Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 26, 2025 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT)