- Healthcare stocks led the gainers in the S&P 500 on Thursday, as large-cap pharma stocks witnessed a resurgence a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve approved its third consecutive interest-rate increase of 0.75 percentage points signaling additional large hikes for the year.
- While leading drugmakers Merck ( MRK ), Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and Amgen ( AMGN ), and UnitedHealth ( UNH ) dominated the S&P 500, VanEck Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF ( NASDAQ: PPH ), representing 25 global pharma stocks, rose after seven straight sessions of losses.
- Merck ( MRK ) posted the second-best intraday gain for the year after winning a patent lawsuit against Viatris ( VTRS ) over its blockbuster diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet .
- Meanwhile, Eli Lilly ( LLY ) recorded the best gain for 2022 after UBS upgraded the stock citing the company’s prospects in the weight loss market and Alzheimer’s space.
- Read: Seeking Alpha contributor North Post Research cites a positive correlation between healthcare and inflation, which reached a four-decade high in June with a 9.1% rise in the consumer price index.
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Healthcare outperforms S&P 500 as large cap pharma rebounds