** Share in healthcare companies drop the most in Europe, hurt by the news that Donald Trump has selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has previously spread misinformation on vaccines, to lead the country's top health agency
** STOXX 600 Healthcare index .SXDP at -2.09% is the biggest faller among the pan-European indices
** At 1113.76 points, the sub-index is at its lowest in 7 months and is heading for its biggest single day slump since early August if losses persist
** Stifel, Oddo BHF and Bernstein analysts attribute Friday's share weakness in the sector to the news, pointing in particular to vaccine makers
** "A somewhat knee-jerk reaction but not entirely surprising in this case," Stifel's Eric Le Berrigaud says
** "We don't think the U.S. will change its vaccination calendar because it's based on scientific data," Bernstein's Florent Cespedes says, deeming the reaction "exaggerated"
** Among single stocks, Sanofi SASY.PA, GSK GSK.L fall more than 3%, AstraZeneca AZN.L falls 2.5%, Roche ROG.S down 2.8%
** Bavarian Nordic BAVA.CO, which makes mpox vaccine, plummets 17%, also hurt by weak Q3 results
** Belgium's UCB UCB.BR slumps 6.3%, argenx ARGX.BR down 3.6%, Spain's Rovi ROVI.MC slides 4.2%
(Reporting by Piotr Lipinski)
((piotr.lipinski@tr.com))
