Health-care companies rose, but lagged the broad market, as investors rotated out of sectors seen as faring well during the global coronavirus lockdown and into stocks more sensitive to acceleration in economic growth.
The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology index, which tracks a basket of large biotech companies, initially fell and remained near the flat line.
Shares of companies developing Covid-19 treatments, including Moderna and Novavax, gave back some of their recent gains. Novavax agreed to buy a company with a biologics production facility in Czech Republic to boost manufacturing capacity for its vaccine candidate.
Shares of Omega Diagnostics rallied after Sky News reported a U.K. consortium in which Omega is participating could make 50 million tests a year to determine whether people have developed immunity to the virus.
Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious-disease expert, said hydroxychloroquine isn't an effective treatment for Covid-19 and urged caution as Republicans and Democrats plan their conventions for later this summer, as reported earlier.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
