-- Health care stocks declined late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index falling 1.1% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) dropping 1.4%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) shed 1.7%.
In corporate news, AbbVie (ABBV) is expected to report Q1 earnings within its guidance range, but that may not be enough to improve sentiment toward the drugmaker, RBC Capital Markets said in a client note. The brokerage expects AbbVie to report per-share earnings of $2.59 for the first quarter, while the current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $2.83. AbbVie shares were down 2.1%.
Replimune (REPL) shares tumbled 19%. The company's biologics license application for vusolimogene oderparepvec to treat unresectable advanced cutaneous melanoma was rejected by the US Food and Drug Administration, the regulator said in a complete response letter.
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has been ordered by a jury in Chicago to pay $53 million in compensatory damages to a group of families related to four cases over its infant formula, the Chicago Tribune reported. The families accused the company of allegedly failing to inform them that its infant formula could develop a dangerous intestinal disease in premature infants, the report said. Abbott shares fell 2.7%.
Organon (OGN) is closing in on a deal to be acquired by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries for $12 billion, The Economic Times reported. Organon shares surged 27%.