01:34 PM EDT, 03/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were easing Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) both fractionally lower.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 0.4%.

In corporate news, the US Food and Drug Administration's staff on Wednesday raised concerns about whether the cancer cell therapies of Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and Bristol Myers Squibb ( BMY ) would benefit adult patients with myeloma, a type of blood cancer, due to higher rate of early deaths in their respective late-stage trials, according to briefing documents. Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) shares were down 0.3% and Bristol Myers Squibb ( BMY ) was shedding 0.5%.