MILAN (Reuters) -Healthcare stocks led sectoral decliners in Europe on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump’s latest threat of higher tariffs on pharmaceutical imports kept traders on edge.
Trump said on Tuesday that Washington would initially impose a “small tariff” before raising it to 150% within 18 months, and eventually to 250%, in a bid to boost domestic production.
The STOXX Healthcare index fell as much as 1.7% by 0933 GMT, hitting its lowest level in over three months and bringing year-to-date losses close to 10%. Among the top fallers were Swiss drugmakers Novartis and Roche.
Shares in weight-loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk struggled to stabilise after last week’s rout following a profit warning. The stock was last down over 1.9%.
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Amanda Cooper)
