01:34 PM EDT, 06/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were mixed Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index rising 0.1% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) shedding 0.2%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 0.9%.

In corporate news, Avidity Biosciences ( RNA ) shares soared almost 30% after it said Wednesday that initial results from an early-to-mid-stage study of its experimental drug AOC 1020 to treat rare muscle disease facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy showed a greater than 50% reduction in DUX4-regulated genes.