Health care stocks were mixed Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index down 0.1% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) adding 0.3%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 1.2%.
In corporate news, CVS Health (CVS) shares jumped past 12% as a Q3 revenue beat overshadowed an earnings miss.
AstraZeneca (AZN) four senior executives in China, including two former employees, are being investigated for alleged violations of Chinese laws on drug importation and data privacy, Bloomberg reported, citing the company. AstraZeneca shares were falling 3.2%.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) reported Q3 earnings Wednesday of 6.12 Danish kroner ($0.88) per diluted American depositary share, up from 5 kroner a year earlier and above the expectation of three analysts polled by Capital IQ calling for 5.95 kroner. Q3 net sales were 71.31 billion kroner, up from 58.73 billion kroner in the year-ago period but below the Capital IQ consensus analyst estimate of 71.87 billion kroner. Novo shares shed 3.7%.