Stock Market Update
20-Oct-26 11:55 ET
Health care sector outperforms
Dow +502.39
at 52468.63,
Nasdaq +52.73
at 26504.06,
S&P +31.23
at 7722.03
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%), and DJIA (+0.9%) have settled into a relatively stable range below their session highs. Crude oil prices have rebounded modestly in recent trading following comments attributed to an unnamed official disputing earlier reports that the U.S. and Iran are nearing an agreement.
The health care sector (+2.4%) remains the best-performing S&P 500 sector by a considerable margin, supported by pronounced strength in pharmaceutical and biotechnology stocks. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF is up 3.0%, while Eli Lilly (LLY 1299.45, +59.11, +4.77%) and Biogen (BIIB 244.38, +10.90, +4.67%) are among the S&P 500's top performers, with both stocks reaching fresh 52-week highs. Eli Lilly has also climbed to a new all-time high.
