Life sciences firms fall as China hikes tariff on US imports

Shares of some life sciences companies down as China announced an increase in tariffs on U.S. imports to 84% from 34%, shortly after President Donald Trump's punitive 104% tariffs on Chinese imports kicked in on Wednesday

Shares of QuidelOrtho QDEL.O fall 1.6%, Thermo Fisher Scientific TMO.N down 1.4%, Bio-Techne TECH.O down 1.7%

Bio-Rad Laboratories BIO.N down 1.2%, Danaher DHR.N down 1%

Brokerage RBC Capital Markets says both DHR and QDEL have 12% of their revenue coming from China

Adds, BIO has 8% exposure to China, while TECH and TMO both have 9% exposure to the region

RBC says the rollout of China's equipment stimulus package announced in March 2024 could be impacted by the new tariffs

China's cabinet approved the equipment stimulus package to promote large-scale equipment upgrades and replacement of old consumer goods with new ones

Including session's move, QDEL down 42.3% YTD, DHR down 24.1%, TMO down 19.8%