Tech Stocks Are Roaring Back as Pharma Stocks Fall. Here’s Why.

Published: May 12, 2025 by Omor IE

Key Points

A 90-day mutual tariff pause between the U.S. and China has caused a rally.
Pharma stocks still seem lukewarm due to Trump promising massive drug price cuts.
Some pharma stocks have rallied nonetheless, though many are in the red.
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Tech stocks have started rallying after China and the United States mutually agreed to lower tariffs on one another. This is a temporary measure, but the stock market is very bullish as this is expected to lead to a comprehensive trade deal with China that would finally settle all the uncertainty.

Chinese goods being imported into the U.S. will be subject to 30% tariffs, and U.S. goods going into China will be subject to 10% tariffs for 90 days, starting May 14th. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called the current tariff level on China a floor, though he has said that he 20% fentanyl tariff could be done away with. So, we could be looking at China being subject to just 10% tariffs from 145% before.

The president has also signed an executive order that has caused pharma stocks to tumble.

Here’s a market update as of 10:30 AM (ET) today.

The S&P 500 is up 138.08 points, or 2.44%.
The Nasdaq Composite is up 589.02 points, or 3.28%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 946.71 points, or 2.3%.

Pharma Stocks Fall as Tech Rallies

Tech stocks are surging right now due to a significant de-escalation in trade tensions, but the pharmaceutical sector hasn’t been so lucky. President Donald Trump pledged to cut U.S. drug prices by 30% to 80% and match levels paid by other high-income countries. He specifically said drug prices would come down by around 59%.

Let’s look at the tech rally first.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is up 7.8%. Obviously, this is a massive winner since this company has a big e-commerce arm with lots of imports from China. The fact that the de minimis exemption is still in place will protect it from Temu as well.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is up 5.7%. Trump said he just spoke with Tim Cook, and the fact that tariffs are now much lower has helped sentiment.
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is up 4.2%. The company was subject to massive tariffs that would’ve hurt exports, but paying 10% will lead to a much milder impact.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is up 6.9%.
Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) is up 9.3%.

Almost every tech stock is up at the moment.

As for pharma, not all stocks here have plunged, but some have taken notable hits.

McKesson Corp (NYSE: MCK) is down 2.8%.
Kroger (NYSE: KR) is down 5.3%, though this is not specifically due to pharma woes.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is down 0.4%.

Notable Gainers Today

Next Technology Holding (NASDAQ: NXTT) is up 45% after it reported it added 5,000 Bitcoins to its portfolio.
Fluence Energy (NASDAQ: FLNC) is up 30.7%. Likely due to the tariff pause.
NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is up 22.2%.
Wayfair (NYSE: W) is up 18.7%.
RH (NYSE: RH) is up 17.4%.
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) is up 16%.

Many other big-name stocks are up sharply, including ZIM, DGNX, SWK, NBIS, HUT, SHOP, VFC, ELF, AFRM, PONY, TTD, CIVI, CE, UPST.

Notable Losers Today

Pan American Silver (NYSE: PAAS) is down 14.4% as news came out is it acquiring MAG Silver in a $2.1 billion deal.
Anglogold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) is down 9.5%.
Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE: AEM) is down 7.8%.
Spotify Technology (NYSE: SPOT) is down 4.8%.
Oscar Health (NYSE: OSCR) is down 3.5%.