Despite a strong rally in benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty on Monday, pharmaceutical stocks witnessed a sharp decline in early trade. The downturn came after US President Donald Trump announced plans to sign an executive order aimed at slashing prescription drug prices to match those paid by other high-income countries—potentially 30% to 80% lower than current US prices. He also proposed a “most favoured nations” policy, under which the US would pay no more than the lowest price paid globally for the same drug.
The move sparked concerns across the pharmaceutical industry, especially among Indian drug exporters heavily reliant on the US market. The President’s remarks indicated that US healthcare costs would drop to levels “never even thought of before,” increasing uncertainty in the global pharma sector.
Adding to the unease is the ongoing lack of clarity around proposed tariffs on drug imports into the US. Earlier comments from President Trump hinted at imposing pharma tariffs at “never seen before levels,” which has further capped investor enthusiasm for pharma stocks.
As a result, the BSE Pharma index dropped 333 points in early trading to 40,889, down from its previous close of 41,222. Similarly, the Nifty Pharma index plummeted by 495 points to 20,576. Shares of pharma major Sun Pharma declined 7% to ₹1,623, from its previous close of ₹1,744.85, leading to a drop in its market capitalization to ₹4.04 lakh crore.
Other major players like Biocon, Suven Pharma, Aurobindo, Lupin, Divis Labs, and Glenmark saw losses ranging from 1% to 4%, ranking them among the top losers on the Nifty 500 index for the day.
However, the sector showed some signs of recovery by late morning, with the BSE Healthcare index climbing 328 points to 41,550, and the Nifty Pharma index narrowing its loss to just 16 points, resting at 21,056.
Meanwhile, the broader market enjoyed a bullish run. The Sensex surged 2,015.54 points (2.54%) to 81,470.01, while the Nifty50 rallied 625.6 points (2.60%) to 24,633.60. The overall market capitalization of BSE-listed companies rose sharply to ₹428.80 lakh crore, marking an increase of ₹12.28 lakh crore from Friday’s market cap of ₹416.52 lakh crore, signaling robust investor sentiment outside the pharma sector.
