Healthcare sector leads British stocks lower as trade war intensifies

April 9 (Reuters) - British stocks ended lower on Wednesday, dragged by heavyweight pharmaceutical stocks, while markets remained focused on tariff escalations between the U.S. and China.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE slipped 2.9%, after recording its strongest session since March 2022 in the previous one.

The domestically focused midcap index .FTMC fell 2.5%.

Hopes for concessions faded after rounds of tariff retaliation by the world's two major economies, as China announced 84% tariffs on U.S. goods, up from 34%, in response to U.S. levies of 104% on Beijing starting on Thursday.

Pharma and biotech .FTNMX201030 stocks fell 6.1%, leading sectoral declines, alongside European and U.S. peers after U.S. President Donald Trump signalled he would announce a "major" tariff on pharmaceutical imports.

AstraZeneca AZN.L and GSK GSK.L were among the worst performers on the FTSE 100, down 6.8% and 5.7% respectively.

Trump's sweeping tariffs have also sparked retaliation from others, including Canada and the European Union , disrupting a global trading order and raising the likelihood of recession.

Britain faces import duties of 10%, the Bank of England has warned that global economic risks have increased and the UK remains particularly vulnerable as an open economy with a large financial sector.

All major sectors were down, barring precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 which rose as gold prices climbed on safe-haven demand. GOL/.

British 30-year gilt yields surged to their highest since May 1998 , following another sharp rise in U.S. Treasury yields as investors sold off even safe-haven government bonds.

Utilities .FTUB6510, often traded as a bond proxy, were down 2.2%.

Energy .FTNMX601010 stocks dropped 4.8%, as oil prices plunged as much as 7%, hitting new four-year lows before recovering ground. O/R

Industrial metal miners .FTNMX551020 fell 2.2%, after copper prices fell to an eight-month low as China's retaliation against U.S. tariffs reduced buying interest. MET/L

On the flip side, JD Sports JD.L gained 9.5% after the sportswear retailer forecast in line annual profitability despite market volatility.

Assura AGRP.L led the gains in the midcap index, up 5.1%, after a KKR-Stonepeak consortium agreed to buy the healthcare REIT for 1.61 billion pounds ($2.06 billion).

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