Health care was weak due in large part to a large loss in Gilead Sciences (GILD 92.90, -15.55), which followed reports that pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts is going to displace Gilead’s hepatitis C drug, Sovaldi, in favor of a less expensive offering from AbbVie, Viekira Pak, which recently won FDA approval and will become the exclusive option in the formulary for patients with genotype 1 hepatitis C.
GILD is a big weighting in the biotech etf IBB, so it had a hard time getting out of its own way today and it dragged the group down with it. The conversation has changed as pharmacy benefits companies can pick and choose the winners and losers in the biotech sector.
The energy sector traded in negative territory throughout the day, pressured by a renewed drop in oil and natural gas prices. WTI crude futures dipped 3.3% to $55.27/bbl while natural gas futures, hit with forecasts for warmer winter temperatures ahead in the northeast, plunged 8.2% to $3.18/btu.
See you in the morning.