The latest Market Talks covering the Health Care sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
0109 GMT - Malaysia's glove makers are expected to see lower average selling prices in 3Q after prices peaked in May, as raw material costs ease and the market normalizes, Kenanga IB analyst Raymond Choo Ping Khoon says in a note. While 2Q earnings are likely to remain strong, profits could soften in coming quarters as pricing declines, he says. However, earnings are expected to recover gradually over the longer term, as manufacturers improve margins through greater automation and lower production costs, he reckons. Kenanga downgrades Malaysian glove sector's rating to neutral from overweight, pegging Kossan Rubber Industries as top pick, given its strategic pivot toward specialty and cleanroom gloves. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
1704 GMT - Johnson & Johnson's latest quarterly results offer a positive signal for medical device end markets, even though the company reported lower-than-expected growth in its medical device division, Baird analysts say in a note. J&J's medical technology miss was largely due to company-specific issues in its cardiovascular unit, masking reasonably solid performances from surgical, vision and orthopedics, they say. The analysts say the report offers positive read throughs for companies like Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Stryker in orthopedics, and for Medtronic and Abbott Laboratories in cardio and electrophysiology, among others. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1305 GMT - European banks are the largest consensus overweight for European investors, Bank of America's European fund manager survey for July says. A net 49% of surveyed investors say the continent's banks will outperform other sectors. By way of contrast, investors are betting that European auto companies will struggle, with a net 46% of participants betting the sector will underperform. Fund managers turned their backs on healthcare stocks in large numbers, as the net percent of managers overweight the sector dropped form 50% to 3% in July. A basket of European banking stocks is up close to 16% so far this year, compared to a year-to-date rise of 8.4% for the sector-wide Stoxx 600. BofA's survey was conducted between July 2 and July 9. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
1028 GMT - Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical business continues to post growth, as strength in its oncology portfolio helps cushion against declining sales of Stelara. J&J says pharmaceutical sales rose 7.8% in the second quarter, citing strength in cancer drugs like Darzalex, Carvykti, Tecvayli and Rybrevant. The company also points to other areas of its drug portfolio, likeTremfya in immunology and Spravato in neuroscience. Those areas are helping it contend with lower sales of Stelara, a treatment for skin and digestive conditions, after it lost patent protection for the drug last year. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 16, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)
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