Healthcare stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index up 0.1% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 0.3%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 0.5%.
In corporate news, Merck (MRK) shares rose 2.6% after Daiwa upgraded the stock to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $143 per share from $120.
Financial stocks were edging up in late Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index adding 0.1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) fractionally higher.The Philadelphia Housing Index was climbing 1.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 0.6%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 0.9% to $63,394, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries decreased less than one basis point to 4.69%.In economic news, the pace of US existing home sales fell by 1.7% to a 4.06 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in July from 4.13 million in June, compared with a larger expected decrease to a 4.05 million rate in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, data from the National Association of Realtors released Tuesday showed.The National Federation of Independent Business's monthly Small Business Optimism Index rose to 99.8 in July from 97.4 in June but was below the 100.3 reported a year earlier.Redbook US same-store sales jumped 8.3% from a year earlier in the week ended Aug. 8 after an 8.7% surge in the previous week.In corporate news, Apollo Global Management's (APO) Apollo Sports Capital has reached a $2.6 billion financing deal with Yankee Global Enterprises, the holding company of the New York Yankees, Apollo said Tuesday. As part of the deal, Apollo Sports Capital CEO Al Tylis will join YGE's board, the company said. Apollo shares jumped 6.1%.Nvidia (NVDA) said late Monday it partnered with six financial institutions to raise more than $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure. Nvidia signed memorandums of understanding with Apollo (APO), BlackRock (BLK), Blackstone (BX), Brookfield (BN), Goldman Sachs (GS) and KKR (KKR) to establish independent compute financing platforms, it said. BlackRock was up 1.4%, Blackstone added 3.8%, Brookfield rose 1.2%, Goldman was down 0.1%, and KKR climbed 7%.Blue Owl Capital (OWL) is selling $750 million of high-grade debt, $250 million more than initially discussed, after receiving a sizable amount of investor orders, Bloomberg reported. Blue Owl shares rose 5.2%.Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has started a US investment-grade bond sale in as many as five parts two weeks after announcing a $6 billion deal to acquire MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX), Bloomberg reported. Intercontinental Exchange shares increased 0.5%.
Energy stocks were higher late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.7% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.2%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index increased 0.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index advanced 1.1%.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.5% to $83.33 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract gained 1.5% to $89.04 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures decreased 0.9% to $2.77 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, Duke Energy (DUK) shares rose 1.6% after it said Tuesday it priced a public offering of 35 million equity units, with each unit to be issued in a stated amount of $50, for about $1.72 billion in expected net proceeds.Phillips 66 (PSX), Kinder Morgan (KMI), and HF Sinclair (DINO) said they have reached a final investment decision to move forward with a joint venture to build the $5 billion Western Gateway Pipeline system. Phillips 66 shares gained 4%, Kinder Morgan added 0.4%, and HF Sinclair rose 1.5%.Baker Hughes (BKR) said it has signed a multiyear contract with Kuwait Oil Co. to support technology innovation in the country's upstream energy sector. Baker Hughes shares added 1%.Flowco (FLOC) shares added 3.1% after it posted higher Q2 earnings and revenue.
Healthcare stocks declined late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index shedding 0.5% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) down 0.2%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) decreased less than 0.1%.In corporate news, Tactile Systems Technology (TCMD) shares fell past 17% after it reported late Monday its Q2 results and lowered its revenue guidance for the full year.Alamar Biosciences (ALMR) reported a narrower Q2 net loss and sales above consensus late Monday. Its shares surged past 32%.Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) shares fell 2.5%. Q2 results were mixed, with upside in its US business from branded GLP-1 strength and a ramp in testosterone offset by disappointing gross margin and weak free cash flow, Morgan Stanley said.Eli Lilly (LLY) committed to use Veeva Systems' (VEEV) Veeva Vault CRM globally. Lilly shares were down 1.3%, and Veeva added 1%.