Health Care Stocks Rally as Investors Pivot to Defensive Assets

Medtronic signaled confidence in its trajectory by raising growth projections for the fiscal year. The company, which specializes in pacemakers and defibrillators, reported an increase in both profit and sales for the first quarter, outperforming expectations.

In the pharmaceutical space, Novartis shares gained momentum following encouraging clinical data. The Swiss drugmaker revealed that its new pill demonstrated positive results in two late-stage trials for the most common form of multiple sclerosis, effectively reducing the frequency of patient flare-ups.