-- Health care stocks rose late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index adding 1.6% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) up 1.8%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 1.6%.
In corporate news, Novavax (NVAX) shares rose 3.1% after it said Tuesday in a regulatory filing that shareholder Shah Capital plans to vote against the re-election of board nominees and the company's executive compensation package at its upcoming annual meeting.