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XLV

Health Care Select Sect SPDR ETF

5/20/2013, 9:56 AM ET

Quote & Headlines Market Currents StockTalk

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Friday, May 17, 8:13 AM Thomas Lee lifts his year-end S&P 500 (SPY) forecast to 1,715 from 1,580 as the bull has already outrun his expectations. His team sees clues economic performance is picking up, including the outperformance of semiconductors (XSD) vs. transports (IYT), and the steepening of the 10 year/30 year Treasury curve. Risk/reward is particularly appealing in tech (XLK), healthcare (XLV), and financials (XLF). Comment!
Thursday, May 16, 11:42 AM The Dow and S&P 500 are flat, but the Nasdaq gains 0.4% late morning behind a 12.5% jump in Cisco post-earnings and Apple bouncing from the last 2 days' drubbing, up 1.5%. Dragging the Dow is a 2.1% decline in Wal-Mart post-earnings. The notably weak sector today is the year's hottest, healthcare (XLV -0.8%). 1 Comment
Monday, May 6, 1:36 PM Merck (MRK -1.3%) gets no love today from the FDA's approval of Liptruxet late Friday, as the stock is likely dragged down with the rest of the big pharma names on the back of a CNBC report that criticizes their earnings so far. The article points to the fact that pharmaceutical companies have seen a 4.7% contraction in earnings, and a 3.2% drop in revenue this quarter. Why? Morningstar's Damien Cover says there are two primary reasons: FX impact, especially from the yen, and intensified generic competition from patent losses. Comment! [Healthcare, On the Move]
Monday, May 6, 7:27 AM The S&P 500 (SPY) is fairly valued, says Goldman, but opportunity lies in cyclicals (XLY, XLE, XLI, XLB) which are more undervalued vs. defensives (XLU, XLP, XLV, XTL) than at any time in the last 15 years. "Given the 4 P/E multiple point head start, even a slight valuation normalization should translate into outperformance of cyclicals over defensives during the next 12 months." 1 Comment
Friday, May 3, 12:54 PM Stocks remain sharply higher midday (SPY +1.2%), with the year's leaders - healthcare (XLV +0.7%), utilities (XLU +0.2%), and staples (XLP +0.7%) - lagging, and the year's laggers - industrials (XLI +2.1%), tech (XLK +1.1%), and energy (XLE +1.9%) - leading. Treasurys (TLT -2.1%) are suffering one of their worst days of the year, and broader fixed income (AGG -0.3%). 1 Comment
Friday, April 26, 8:34 AM The beginning of a bigger move? Two of the year's three strongest performing sectors - healthcare (XLV) and consumer staples (XLP) - are down on the week as the three weakest sectors - energy (XLE), materials (XLB), and tech (XLK) - post gains of 3%-4.5%. 2 Comments
Wednesday, April 24, 12:44 PM Stocks take more of a negative tone at midday, the DJIA (DIA) -0.3%, led by 5% declines in both AT&T and Procter & Gamble. Also notably in the red is the healthcare (XLV -1.2%) sector, but financials (XLF +0.5%), energy (XLE +1.4%), and materials (XLB +1.2%) are posting gains. The Nasdaq -0.4%, led by the aforementioned AT&T, Cisco, and Apple. 1 Comment
Monday, April 15, 5:53 AM The Supreme Court is due to hear arguments today on whether it's possible to patent isolated human genes in a debate that encompasses the concept that IP can't cover "laws of nature." The case involves Myriad Genetics (MYGN), which holds two patents that allow it to genetically screen those at risk of breast or ovarian cancer. The impact of any ruling on the human-gene field will probably be limited, although it could have ramifications for the wider pharmaceuticals sector, agriculture, industrial microbiology and alternative fuels. 1 Comment [Healthcare, Top Stories]
Thursday, April 11, 2:08 PM Healthcare and biotech ETFs continue to churn higher again today, hitting new 52-week highs across the board: Health Care SPDR (XLV +1%), Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT +0.9%), iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare (IYH +0.9%),. Biotech ETF iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (IBB +1.3%). 1 Comment [Healthcare, On the Move]
Wednesday, April 10, 8:06 AM The $500M jury award against UnitedHealth (UNH) following a doctor's shoddy procedures is "groundbreaking," says lawyer John Beisner. "It opens the door to putting insurance companies consistently on the line for the actions of any physician who they compensate for services." However, Harvard Law School's Glenn Cohen reckons the award will be reduced on appeal. 1 Comment [Healthcare]
Friday, April 5, 5:00 AM St. Jude Medical (STJ) has been hit with lawsuits in California that allege that defects with the manufacturing and oversight of its now recalled Riata heart defibrillator "leads" injured or killed over 30 patients. The suits could have a wider impact, as they seek to get round a 2008 Supreme Court ruling that protected medical-device companies from product-liability claims as long as they complied with FDA standards. Comment! [Healthcare]
Thursday, April 4, 4:45 AM The cost of caring for people with dementia is $157-215B a year and could double by 2040, a study from RAND Corp. estimates. The cost of dementia treatment is $109B - above the $102B spent on heart disease and the $77B on cancer - with the other dementia expenses used for long-term day-to-day care. Companies that develop drugs for Alzheimer's disease and other conditions include Pfizer (PFE), Eli Lilly (LLY), J&J (JNJ) and Merck (MRK). 5 Comments [Healthcare]
Wednesday, April 3, 3:02 PM The S&P and DJIA may have just hit new all-time highs, but the Health Care (XLV), Consumer Staples (XLP) and Discretionary (XLY) sectors left their records in the dust some time ago. Technology (XLK) and Financials (XLF) are the two biggest sectors and it could be years, if not decades before they put in new records. Comment!
Tuesday, April 2, 1:22 PM Already the best sector YTD, Healthcare widens its lead even further thanks to hikes in Medicaid Advantage rates. The XLV's 17.1% gain is more than 200 bps greater than 2nd place Consumer Staples (XLP), and about 700 bps better than SPY. Getting a relative drubbing are Materials (XLB) and Tech (XLK) - each up less than 4%. Comment!
Wednesday, March 27, 3:07 PM Updating its ETF matrix, Bespoke finds all the major U.S. index ETFs up about 10% YTD, with the leading sectors health care (XLV) and consumer staples (XLP) - each up more than 13%. Dragging are telecom (IYZ), materials (XLB), and tech (XLK). About all country ETFs are in the red, with the exceptions of Japan (EWJ) and Mexico (EWW). Leading everything is natural gas (UNG), up 17.7%. Comment!
Wednesday, March 27, 2:51 PM Green enters the major averages which all were down nearly 1% in the day's early going on EU bank worries. The Nasdaq +0.1% even as Apple and Google slip more than 1%. The DJIA -0.2%, the S&P 500 -0.1%, with financials the biggest drag, but energy (XLE) and healthcare (XLV) mostly higher. 2 Comments