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.

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%.