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Amgen, Zoetis lead gains for healthcare in S&P 500 during August

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Amgen, Zoetis lead gains for healthcare in S&P 500 during August

The S&P 500 healthcare sector saw a negative total return of 0.5% in August, making it the fourth-best performing sector when compared to the overall S&P 500 Index, which recorded a decline of 1.6% in the market, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Utilities stocks led the gains in the S&P 500 Index in August with a total return of 5.2%, while S&P 500 Energy was the worst-performing sector with a negative total return of 8.1%.

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Amgen Inc. was the only healthcare company among the top 10 performers on the S&P 500 index based on total return for August. The Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based biotechnology company saw a gain of 12.6%.

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Zoetis Inc., a Parsippany, N.J.-based pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes animal health medicines, vaccines and diagnostic products, was the second-best performer in the healthcare sector on the S&P 500 index, with a return of 10.0%.

Of the 62 healthcare companies on the S&P 500 index as of the end of August, only two reported double-digit gains for the month. Other top performers in the healthcare sector were CVS Health Corp., ResMed Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. with total returns of 9.0%, 8.6% and 8.2%, respectively.

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Nektar Therapeutics and Abiomed Inc. were the only two healthcare companies among the 10 worst performers on the S&P 500 for August. San Francisco-based Nektar had the steepest negative return of 38.3%.

Abiomed, a Danvers, Mass.-based medical-device maker that develops technologies to assist or replace the pumping function of the heart, saw a 30.7% negative return.

Meanwhile, Mettler-Toledo International Inc., Perrigo Co. PLC and Align Technology Inc. saw losses of 13.2%, 13.0% and 12.4%, respectively.