01:52 PM EDT, 06/04/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks were higher Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index climbing 3.2% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) rising 2.8%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) added 2.2%.

In corporate news, Eli Lilly ( LLY ) shares climbed 5% 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.

Merck ( MRK ) shares rose 3.9% after it said Thursday it will pay over $50 million to settle more than 200 lawsuits that blame the drugmaker's Gardasil cancer vaccine for causing autoimmune ailments in young women, Bloomberg reported.

BofA Securities upgraded UnitedHealth ( UNH ) to buy from neutral as medical cost trends improvement and "supportive" near-term data points form a favorable Q2. UnitedHealth ( UNH ) shares gained 5.2%.