Healthcare stocks rose Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index up 0.2% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 0.4%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed up 1.9%.

In corporate news, Eli Lilly (LLY) said data from a phase 3 head-to-head trial showed retatrutide delivered greater A1C reduction and "substantially" more weight loss than Novo Nordisk's (NVO) injectable Ozempic 2 mg in adults with type 2 diabetes at 80 weeks. Lilly shares were up 0.5%, and Novo was down 1.4%.