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 Shares of Johnson & Johnson took a 1.4% hit in morning trading Friday, after a report that health officials decided the drugmaker needs to throw out millions of doses of its COVID-19 vaccine because of possible contamination. The New York Times reported Friday, citing people familiar with the situation, that after weeks of review, the Food and Drug Administration told J&J to discard 60 million doses of its vaccine made at a Baltimore plant under federal review, which is operated by Emergent BioSolutions Inc. , because of possible contamination. The FDA said Friday that it was authorizing emergency use of two batches of vaccines made at the Baltimore facility, even though it said it is "not yet ready" to include the plant as an authorized facility for the vaccine. The NYT report comes after the FDA approved the extension of the shelf life of J&J's one-dose vaccine, to 4 1/2 months from 3 months, as supply piled up. J&J's stock has gained 3.6% over the past three months, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has gained 8.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has tacked on 5.9%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Stocks ended a choppy session in positive territory Friday, with the S&P 500 logging its second consecutive record close a day after a hotter-than-expected rise in the May consumer-price index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose around 15 points, or less than 0.1%, to close near 34,480, according to preliminary figures. The S&P 500 rose around 8 points, or 0.2%, end near 4,248, while the Nasdaq Composite gained around 49 points, or 0.4%, to finish near 14,069. The Dow lost ground for the week, however, falling by around 0.8%, while the S&P 500's record push left it up just 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite booked a weekly gain of 1.9%, outpacing its peers as Treasury yields fell.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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