Healthcare stocks advanced Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index rising 0.8% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) increasing 0.5%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) added 0.3%.
In corporate news, Revvity (RVTY) shares gained 2.6% after the company launched its GSP T1D 3plex kit, an automated test that helps identify children at risk of developing type 1 diabetes before symptoms appear.
Mesoblast (MESO) shares rose 1.1% after the company said the US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new potency assay, T-cell Proliferation Inhibition BioAssay, for release and stability monitoring of all new commercial Ryoncil lots.
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) shares fell 10% after the firm said its phase 2 study of remlifanserin for Alzheimer's disease psychosis narrowly missed its primary endpoint.