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Sector Update: Health Care Stocks Softer in Afternoon Trading

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-- Health care stocks declined Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index down 0.8% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) shedding 0.9%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) fell 2%.

In corporate news, AbbVie (ABBV) raised its full-year outlook on Wednesday as the biopharmaceutical company recorded better-than-expected Q1 results, driven by robust revenue growth from its Skyrizi and Rinvoq immunology drugs. Its shares rose 3.4%.

AstraZeneca (AZN) will invest 300 million pounds ($404.9 million) in the UK, focusing on its sites in Cambridge and Macclesfield, in a move aimed at boosting the country's life sciences sector, Bloomberg reported. AstraZeneca shares were down 1.2%.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (KALV) and Chiesi Group said Wednesday they have signed an agreement through which Chiesi will buy KalVista for $27 per share in cash, or about $1.9 billion. KalVista shares surged nearly 39%.

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