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Sector Update: Healthcare

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Healthcare stocks declined Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index decreasing 0.4% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) shedding 0.8%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) fell 2.5%.

In corporate news, Merck's (MRK) strong momentum continues, driven by better-than-expected cancer vaccine data, but valuation now fully reflects the upside, RBC Capital Markets said in a note Thursday. RBC downgraded Merck to sector perform from outperform and raised its price target to $150 from $142. Merck shares were down 0.4%.

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