Photonics and tanker funds lead as Novartis trial misses hit drug stocks
Tuesday, September 8, 2026: tanker fund BWET rose 8.9% and photonics fund LYTE 8.2%; Novartis fell 13.9%, and biotech fund BBH lost 3.6%.
Amgen fell 10.1% to $393.17 after Novartis said pelacarsen lowered lipoprotein(a), a blood fat tied to heart disease, and still failed to reduce cardiovascular events. Amgen is developing olpasiran in the same class. Novartis fell 13.9% to $137.70. A second miss, del-desiran in myotonic dystrophy type 1, a muscle-wasting disease, hit names with a similar trial endpoint: Dyne Therapeutics dropped 16.4%, Sarepta 6.9%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which counts Amgen as a member, dropped 628.18 points, or 1.18%, to 52,786.07 on the first U.S. session after Labor Day; the S&P 500 lost 0.58%.
Optical-fiber stocks and crude-tanker freight paid. Drug and device funds did not.
Verizon fiber deal lifts photonics funds
Verizon and Corning announced a multi-billion-dollar supply agreement for more than 80 million miles of high-density optical fiber from 2027 to 2032. Financial terms were not disclosed. Corning, the specialty-glass and fiber maker, rose 7.6% to $165.99. Verizon rose 0.5%.
The optical-components market moved with it. Lumentum jumped 11.0% to $978.54. Coherent gained 7.1%. Ciena gained 6.3%. The Roundhill photonics and optics fund LYTE rose 8.2%. Its largest position is a Treasury bill; Lumentum, Coherent, and Ciena are the largest listed equities. Two other photonics products joined it: Tuttle Capital's FOTO gained 5.3%, and Tema's LAZR 5.1%. LYTE is still down 2.9% over the past month.
Tanker freight outruns crude producers
West Texas Intermediate crude was at $94.24 a barrel, up 3.0%, as of 4:52 p.m. ET, after Yemeni rebels attacked Saudi energy facilities. Brent was at $99.32, up 3.2%. The United States Oil Fund USO gained 2.9%. Energy producers, via XLE, rose 1.1%.
The Breakwave tanker-freight fund BWET, which holds unlevered oil-tanker futures, gained 8.9% to $550.16, 0.5% below its 52-week high. Its largest contracts are Middle East Gulf-to-China cargoes. It is up 92% over the past month. Freight, not producer equity, was the oil trade that cleared the unleveraged board.
Freight and optical components led the unleveraged board.
Amgen and Novartis drag biotech and pharma ETFs
VanEck's biotech fund BBH fell 3.6%. Amgen is 15.5% of the fund and accounted for 1.56 percentage points of the decline. VanEck's pharmaceutical fund PPH fell 3.3%, with Novartis, a 10.4% weight, contributing 1.45 percentage points.
Tanker and photonics led as biotech and pharma funds fell
- +8.9%
- +8.2%
- +5.3%
- +5.1%
- −3.3%
- −3.6%
Roivant Sciences moved the other way. It closed at $41.48, up 18.8%, after Pulmovant, a Roivant company, said mosliciguat met the main goals of a Phase 2 study in pulmonary hypertension tied to interstitial lung disease and that a Phase 3 study is under way. The stock traded as high as $42.50, a 52-week high.
Medical devices fell on separate news. The $3.38 billion iShares U.S. medical devices fund IHI fell 3.5% and is down 17% over the past year. Stryker, 10.4% of the fund, dropped 8.8% and traded down to a 52-week low, contributing 0.92 percentage points of the decline, the largest drag. Intuitive Surgical fell 4.5%. Boston Scientific fell 5.9% after saying a cyberattack made it unlikely to meet 2026 guidance. The broad health-care sector fund XLV lost 2.5%.
Roivant showed the session still pays a clean readout. It did not lift the biotech funds built around Amgen.
Frequently asked
Why did Amgen fall when Novartis reported the trial?
Amgen is developing olpasiran, a drug in the same class as Novartis's pelacarsen, which lowered lipoprotein(a) but failed to reduce cardiovascular events.
Why did the Dow drop more than the S&P 500?
The Dow counts Amgen as a member, and Amgen fell 10.1%.
Did any biotech stock rise?
Roivant Sciences jumped 18.8% to a 52-week high after its Pulmovant company said mosliciguat met the main goals of a Phase 2 study in pulmonary hypertension tied to interstitial lung disease.
What hit the medical device fund?
Stryker dropped 8.8% to a 52-week low, Intuitive Surgical fell 4.5%, and Boston Scientific fell 5.9% after saying a cyberattack made it unlikely to meet its 2026 guidance.