Trump shakes Wall Street with tough new tariffs as investors brace for impact
At dawn on a brisk Friday in New York, whispers of unease filtered through the financial district. Traders scanned their screens while analysts muttered about President Trump’s latest bombshell, tariffs so sweeping, they redrew the US market’s horizon. Overnight, the White House had announced tariffs reaching up to 100% on imported pharmaceuticals and ranging down to 25% for heavy trucks and household goods. For many, it felt more than simply economics; it felt like brinkmanship with global consequences.
A medicine’s price tag and a market’s heartbeat
As the clocks ticked closer to the market’s open, investors tried to make sense of the numbers. Trump had declared, “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.” The uncertainty was clear as foreign companies planned emergency board meetings and US manufacturers watched for loopholes in the policy.
The direct impact on the American public loomed large. Dr VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, captured the mood: “President Trump’s tantrums with tariffs are resuming with new imposts on patented and branded drugs. India, being an exporter of generic drugs, is unlikely to be impacted by this. But perhaps the president’s next target can be generic drugs”.
Meanwhile, Wall Street shuddered under the new weight: blue-chip stocks dipped, the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, and the Nasdaq lost 0.5%, their third straight day in the red. The tone was sombre but not panicked. As one desk head in Manhattan reportedly put it, “Markets hate two things: surprises and uncertainty. This is both at once”.
New uncertainties, new opportunity
The bigger question hovered beyond the tickers, what would this mean for supply chains, prices, even access to vital medicine? Market analysts stayed glued to Friday’s key inflation indicator: the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, which the Federal Reserve watches keenly. The GDP, meanwhile, told a story of resilience; US growth was revised upwards to 3.8%, and jobless claims dipped, keeping recession fears at bay. But it offered little comfort against political risk.
Fabio Bassi, head of cross-asset strategy at JP Morgan, provided a wider lens: “In this environment of uncertainty as the global trade landscape continues to evolve, we call for range-bound equity markets, between our baseline of 5,200 and our bull case of 5,800 for the S&P 500. However, our bull case scenario could be reached only with broad trade agreements, a decline in volatility and an improvement in sentiment, and we are unlikely to clear all the hurdles on trade deals in the very short term”.
For now, the market finds itself balancing on a knife-edge, listening for every new statement from Washington, tracking each shift in global supply, and pricing in both risk and unexpected chance. Just as one pharmaceutical industry leader warned: “We’re staring at a situation where the price of a $100 imported drug could become $200 overnight, unless we shift production to American soil. And that’s not a decision made lightly”.
Markets ended the day bruised but alert, Tech giants like Intel and IBM even managed a rally on sector headlines, a reminder that change always brings new winners and losers. But as dusk fell over the trading floors, one fact was clear: in the world’s largest economy, a single presidential order can still rewrite the rules of the game.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or brokerage companies, and not of Winvesta. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or brokerage companies, and not of Winvesta. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
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At dawn on a brisk Friday in New York, whispers of unease filtered through the financial district. Traders scanned their screens while analysts muttered about President Trump’s latest bombshell, tariffs so sweeping, they redrew the US market’s horizon. Overnight, the White House had announced tariffs reaching up to 100% on imported pharmaceuticals and ranging down to 25% for heavy trucks and household goods. For many, it felt more than simply economics; it felt like brinkmanship with global consequences.
A medicine’s price tag and a market’s heartbeat
As the clocks ticked closer to the market’s open, investors tried to make sense of the numbers. Trump had declared, “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.” The uncertainty was clear as foreign companies planned emergency board meetings and US manufacturers watched for loopholes in the policy.
The direct impact on the American public loomed large. Dr VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, captured the mood: “President Trump’s tantrums with tariffs are resuming with new imposts on patented and branded drugs. India, being an exporter of generic drugs, is unlikely to be impacted by this. But perhaps the president’s next target can be generic drugs”.
Meanwhile, Wall Street shuddered under the new weight: blue-chip stocks dipped, the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, and the Nasdaq lost 0.5%, their third straight day in the red. The tone was sombre but not panicked. As one desk head in Manhattan reportedly put it, “Markets hate two things: surprises and uncertainty. This is both at once”.
New uncertainties, new opportunity
The bigger question hovered beyond the tickers, what would this mean for supply chains, prices, even access to vital medicine? Market analysts stayed glued to Friday’s key inflation indicator: the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, which the Federal Reserve watches keenly. The GDP, meanwhile, told a story of resilience; US growth was revised upwards to 3.8%, and jobless claims dipped, keeping recession fears at bay. But it offered little comfort against political risk.
Fabio Bassi, head of cross-asset strategy at JP Morgan, provided a wider lens: “In this environment of uncertainty as the global trade landscape continues to evolve, we call for range-bound equity markets, between our baseline of 5,200 and our bull case of 5,800 for the S&P 500. However, our bull case scenario could be reached only with broad trade agreements, a decline in volatility and an improvement in sentiment, and we are unlikely to clear all the hurdles on trade deals in the very short term”.
For now, the market finds itself balancing on a knife-edge, listening for every new statement from Washington, tracking each shift in global supply, and pricing in both risk and unexpected chance. Just as one pharmaceutical industry leader warned: “We’re staring at a situation where the price of a $100 imported drug could become $200 overnight, unless we shift production to American soil. And that’s not a decision made lightly”.
Markets ended the day bruised but alert, Tech giants like Intel and IBM even managed a rally on sector headlines, a reminder that change always brings new winners and losers. But as dusk fell over the trading floors, one fact was clear: in the world’s largest economy, a single presidential order can still rewrite the rules of the game.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or brokerage companies, and not of Winvesta. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or brokerage companies, and not of Winvesta. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Ready to earn on every trade?
Invest in 11,000+ US stocks & ETFs