European shares slide to 4-week lows as investors worry about US move

European stocks hit a 4-week low on Friday at the end of a busy week as investors worried about the impact of fresh US levies on dozens of countries, including a 39 per cent tariff on Switzerland.

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Trump continued his tariff blitz, announcing steep levies on exports from dozens of trading partners including Canada, Brazil, India and Taiwan with countries not listed subject to a base 10 per cent rate ahead of a Friday trade deal deadline.

Healthcare stocks dropped 1.6 per cent after US President Donald Trump sent letters to the leaders of 17 major pharmaceutical companies, including Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, outlining how they should slash US prescription drug prices.

Denmark-listed Novo Nordisk shed 4.9 per cent, falling to an almost four-year low. Shares of the Wegovy-maker are also set for the steepest-ever weekly fall.

"Trump is trying to force these foreign companies to reduce the cost of drugs and medicines exported to the US in order to balance the cuts in subsidies with the big beautiful bill," said Mabrouk Chetouane, head of Global Market Strategy at Nataxis Investment Managers.

"I think the pressure will be extremely strong on the healthcare sector because the US is clearly one of the markets where margins are quite significant." The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.3 per cent by 0915 GMT, down for the third straight session and on track to end the week in the red.