01:13 PM EDT, 06/04/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks were higher Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index climbing 3.3% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) rising 2.9%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) added 2.4%.

In corporate news, Eli Lilly ( LLY ) shares climbed 5.1% after Ascidian Therapeutics said Lilly will receive exclusive, target-specific rights to Ascidian's RNA exon editing technology for undisclosed kidney disease targets in exchange for up to $1.9 billion under a research partnership and licensing deal.