Sector Update: Healthcare

12:59 PM EDT, 09/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks rose Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) each adding about 0.5%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) gained 1.9%. In corporate news, Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Orbis Medicines struck an up to $1.4 billion licensing deal for the private company to develop oral drugs for cardiometabolic diseases. Novo will also make a "strategic investment" in Orbis. Novo shares rose 3.3%.