Broader stock market indices continue to swing wildly up and down as new data emerge showing that inflation is easing, but also that other parts of the economy continue to struggle. However, biotechnology indices and investment funds – like the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) and XBI – continue to gradually climb higher as 2022 comes to an end. As a result, many public biotech firms have been able to raise cash following good data readouts and even after less positive news.
The NBI and XBI are still trading down 11.7% and 29.2%, respectively, from the start of 2022. However, they have gained 19% and 17.3% during the past six months. For comparison, the S&P 500 is down 19.9% year-to-date and has risen just 3.9% during the back half of the year