01:13 PM EDT, 08/07/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks rose Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index adding 0.3% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) up 0.2%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 1.4%.

In corporate news, Neurocrine Biosciences ( NBIX ) shares gained 2.4% after the company said Friday it has started a phase 1 first-in-human trial of NBIP-1968, an experimental drug for obesity.