Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Decline Late Afternoon

03:51 PM EDT, 10/27/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks were slightly lower late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index down 0.1% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) easing 0.1%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 1.2%. In corporate news, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) shares fell 1.8% after Argus downgraded the stock to hold from buy. GSK (GSK) plans to nearly double the number of cancer drug candidates in its pipeline in 2027, bringing the number of cancer drug candidates in clinical development to almost 30, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Hesham Abdullah, head of oncology research at the company. Shares eased 0.2%. Novo Nordisk (NVO) failed to convince a US judge to block Eli Lilly (LLY) from running weight-loss and diabetes drug ads it called false and misleading, multiple news outlets reported Tuesday, citing court proceedings. Novo shares were down 1.2%, and Lilly was up 0.2%. Artiva Biotherapeutics (ARTV) said it will discontinue AlloNK development following a review of the overall risk-benefit of updated clinical data, including recent Grade 5 safety events. Shares fell 30%.