Europe close: Stocks lower after tariff hit to Pharma

(Sharecast News) - European shares slumped on Wednesday as US tariffs came into force, with the pharma sector now apparently in the sights of US President Donald Trump's trade policy, while a sell-off in US government bonds also heightened concerns among investors. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 slid 3.5% to reach 469.89 points after a sell-off on Wall Street overnight.

Germany's DAX was 3.0% lower at 19,670.88 and France's CAC-40 down 3.34% to 6,863.02.

In parallel, the Stoxx 600 sector gauge for Health Care stocks plummeted 5.90% to 936.44.

Euro/dollar was ahead by 0.70% to 1.1036, having reached an intraday high of 1.1038.

Front-dated Brent crude oil futures slipped 2.14% to $60.68 on the ICE.