01:38 PM EDT, 03/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were retreating Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index down 0.3% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) shedding 0.4%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 0.4%.

In corporate news, AstraZeneca ( AZN ) will invest $2.5 billion in a new research facility in Beijing just months after the company's top executive for China was detained by the country's authorities, Bloomberg reported. AstraZeneca ( AZN ) shares were down 1.8%.