Demand for defensive sectors boosts health-care industry

  • Health-care companies rise on demand for defensive sectors
  • SPDR Select Sector Health Care ETF down 4% for the year
  • Medtronic receives FDA approval for Symplicity Spyral device
  • Foot Locker drops UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx
  • Teamsters fund in Philadelphia renews with CVS Health’s Caremark

Health-care companies have seen a rise in their stock prices as economic-growth fears have stirred demand for defensive sectors. The SPDR Select Sector Health Care exchange-traded fund, which tracks the health-care industry group of the S&P 500, has experienced a 4% decline for the year. However, this decline has been less severe compared to earlier losses. In other news, Medtronic has received FDA approval for its Symplicity Spyral device, which is used for the treatment of high blood pressure. On the business front, footwear retailer Foot Locker has dropped UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx drug-benefit manager, while a Teamsters fund in Philadelphia has recently renewed its contract with CVS Health’s Caremark as a replacement.

Public Companies: Medtronic (MDT), Foot Locker (FL), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), CVS Health (CVS)
Private Companies:
Key People:

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Factuality Level: 7
Justification: The article provides information about the performance of health-care companies and the approval of Medtronic’s Symplicity Spyral device. It also mentions the business decisions of Foot Locker and a Teamsters fund. The information provided seems to be factual and does not contain any obvious bias or misleading information. However, the article lacks context and background information, making it difficult to fully understand the significance of the mentioned events.

Noise Level: 3
Justification: The article contains a mix of relevant information about the performance of health-care companies and specific events related to the industry. However, it lacks depth and analysis, and the information provided is somewhat disjointed and lacks context.

Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: Health-care companies

Presence of Extreme Event: No
Nature of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating of the Extreme Event: No
Justification: The article discusses the performance of health-care companies and their impact on the financial markets. However, there is no mention of any extreme events or their impact.

Reported publicly: www.marketwatch.com