Indian pharma stocks jump as US tariffs exempts sector

Nifty pharma index .NIPHARM up 2.3% in afternoon trade after U.S. President Donald Trump exempts the sector from reciprocal tariffs for now

Pharma is the top performer by percentage among the major sectoral indexes

Trump imposed 26% reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports as part of his wider plan to levy a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from April 5, but the duties do not apply to certain goods, including pharmaceuticals

The United States accounts for nearly a third of Indian pharmaceutical exports

Although the exemption may be temporary, pharma stocks focused in U.S. market have already priced in ~10% tariff and may rebound, CLSA analysts say

India's pharma industry may be spared, as U.S. concerns seem more focused on Ireland's tax policies and manufacturing reliance on Ireland and China - Jefferies

Dr. Reddy's REDY.NS, Cipla CIPL.NS, Sun Pharma SUN.NS, Gland Pharma GLAD.NS jump 6.1%, 4.1%, 4.1% and 11.7%, respectively

19 of the 20 index constituents trading higher, benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI down 0.31%