Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Selling has broadened approaching midday. The Dow slipped just below unchanged after holding a small gain, while losses in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have deepened from the prior update.

The S&P 500 health care sector is down 0.2% after being up 0.6% earlier. That reversal interrupts an otherwise strong stretch: the sector is up 3.4% week-to-date and 4.9% month-to-date. Those longer-term gains underscore health care's countercyclical and defensive-oriented appeal, as demand tends to be less sensitive to changes in the economic cycle.

Vaccine stocks are contributing to today's reversal.

Moderna (MRNA 212.76, -23.74, -10.04%), Novavax (NVAX 11.29, -1.53, -11.93%), Vaxcyte (PCVX 63.56, -1.71, -2.61%), and BioNTech (BNTX 88.22, -1.98, -2.20%) are all lower amid profit-taking and valuation concerns following a major rally in the group. Since mid-August, Moderna had surged 240%, and Novavax had gained 45%, leaving both exposed to a pullback as investors reassess how quickly cancer-vaccine and other development opportunities can generate commercial revenue.