Healthcare stocks were higher Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index adding 0.7% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) up 0.4%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) increased 0.3%.
In corporate news, Novartis (NVS) shares jumped nearly 6% after it said Tuesday that phase 3 trials of remibrutinib showed significantly reduced annualized relapse rates compared with teriflunomide in adults with relapsing multiple sclerosis. The trials met their primary endpoints and showed that remibrutinib was superior to teriflunomide on all key secondary measures.
Medtronic (MDT) shares gained 2%. The company lifted its full-year outlook on Tuesday as it reported better-than-expected fiscal Q1 results.
Stryker (SYK) said Tuesday that the first surgical procedure using SportSuite Vision on Apple's (AAPL) Vision Pro device was completed at Duke Health. Stryker shares were down 1%.
MiniMed (MMED) shares surged past 9%. The company reported a fiscal Q1 breakeven, compared with a loss a year earlier, as net sales increased during the period.