01:34 PM EST, 11/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks fell Friday afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index declining 1.6% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) dropping 1.5%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) slumped 4.2%.

In corporate news, Moderna ( MRNA ) shares fell 6.2%, Pfizer ( PFE ) dropped 4.5% and Novavax ( NVAX ) shed 1.6% after US President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of anti-vaccination activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.