Healthcare stocks rose Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Healthcare Index increasing 0.7% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 1%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) advanced 1.7%.
In corporate news, BioNTech (BNTX) cautioned that proposed healthcare reforms in Germany, due for a vote this summer, may put future investments in the country at risk, Bloomberg reported, citing Chief Commercial Officer Annemarie Hanekamp. BioNTech shares fell 1%.
(Updates prices.)Gold traded lower midafternoon on Wednesday as the dollar rose to a two-month high after oil prices rose following fresh hostilities between the United States and Iran, renewing worries energy inflation will force central banks to raise interest rates.Gold for July delivery was last seen down US$53.8 to US$4,466.10 per ounce.The drop comes as oil prices rose for a third day on fresh hostilities between Iran and the United States. The Wall Street Journal reported Iran launched attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain and the United States attacked Iran's military ground control stations on Qeshm Island and struck at an empty oil tanker attempting to run its blockade of Iranian ports and load oil at Iran's Kharg Island."Gold trades lower as the market continues to take its cues from oil, with the latest rise in crude prices weighing on bullion through its inflationary impact. Higher energy costs have underpinned bond yields and the dollar while reducing expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts," Saxo Bank noted.The dollar rose to the highest since April 7, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.31 points to 99.48. Treasury yields also rose, with the U.S. two-year note last seen up 4.0 basis points to 4.094%, while the 10-year note was paying 4.496%, up 5.0 points.
Financial stocks were lower in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.8% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) shedding 0.9%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was down 0.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was up 0.7%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was falling 2.4% to $65,724, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 5 basis points to 4.497%.In economic news, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development lowered its global economic growth projection for 2026, cautioning that the fallout from the Middle East conflict may linger for some time even after its resolution.In corporate news, Amazon-backed (AMZN) Anthropic has chosen Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) to lead its initial public offering, Bloomberg reported. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is also working on the deal, the report said. Goldman shares were down 1.8%, Morgan Stanley shed 1.9%, and JPMorgan decreased 0.1%.Hartford Insurance (HIG) has agreed to sell its Hartford Funds unit to Wellington Management in a deal with a net present value of $1.9 billion, the companies said Wednesday. Hartford shares were down 0.7%.Deutsche Bank (DB) may set aside more money for loan losses than analysts expected in Q2, although provisions are expected to be lower than in the previous quarter, Bloomberg reported, citing CFO Raja Akram. Deutsche shares fell 3.3%.