Australian healthcare firms track U.S. rally as election results roll in

ResMed

05/11/2020 01:21

** Australia's sub-index for healthcare stocks  .AXHJ 
climbs as much as 2.8%, on track for a third straight session of
gains
    ** The S&P healthcare index  .SPXHC  jumped 4.45% to close
at a record high overnight, also notching its biggest daily
percentage gain in about seven months  .N   urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2HQ2A2
    ** Big Pharma Pfizer  PFE.N , Merck & Co  MRK.N  and Johnson
& Johnson  JNJ.N  ended higher on hopes that a gridlock in U.S
Congress would likely shield the industry from sweeping reform
    ** In Australia, Pro Medicus  PME.AX  adds as much as 3.8%
and is set for its best session since Oct 19
    ** ASX-lsited shares of U.S.-based Resmed Inc  RMD.AX  jump
2.9% to hit a record high of A$29.30
    ** CSL  CSL.AX  rises over 3%, while Healius  HLS.AX  is set
to rise for a fourth consecutive session 
    ** Markets also found support with the country signing new
deals to buy COVID-19 vaccines from Novavax  NVAX.O , Pfizer,
and BioNTech  22UAy.F   urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2HQ3U7
    ** Sub-index  .AXHJ  set for its best day in nearly 1-1/2
months
    ** The healthcare index has gained 7.4% this year, as of
last close, against a 9.3% decline in the broader benchmark
index  .AXJO  

 (Reporting by Deepali Saxena)
 ((Deepali.Saxena@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @deepalisaxenas))