Company Interview / the COB: health check

Key points:

US pharmaceutical tariffs weigh on ASX healthcare, notably CSL (ASX:CSL) BHP (ASX:BHP), Liontown (ASX:LTR), and Vulcan Energy (ASX:VUL) drive materials sector gains Silver hits 14-year high, boosting associated ASX stocks

Shane Oliver from AMP highlights that the Australian share market is closing the week on a volatile note, oscillating between gains and losses as investors react to developments both globally and domestically. Healthcare has been the largest laggard, largely due to the Trump administration’s 100% tariff on imported branded and patented pharmaceuticals, effective from 1 October. The materials sector is leading, with BHP (ASX:BHP) performing strongly. Lithium stocks like Liontown (ASX:LTR) and Vulcan Energy (ASX:VUL) are surging, with Vulcan signing a notable deal in Germany. Uranium and silver stocks are also on the rise, with silver hitting a 14-year high and benefitting companies such as Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) and Sirius Resources (ASX:SIR).Oliver regards the US pharmaceutical tariffs as negative for both the US economy and American consumers, potentially raising costs and impacting companies like CSL (ASX:CSL), although the direct effect on the Australian economy is viewed as minor due to the relatively modest export exposure. He notes uncertainty around further tariff escalations, especially in sectors like furniture imports from Asia, which could indirectly affect Australian markets.Locally, Oliver observes that equity markets are pausing due to expectations ahead of the US core PCE price index, key in shaping future Federal Reserve rate decisions, while continued volatility in Australian inflation data suggests that the Reserve Bank is likely to remain on hold next week.