Healthcare sector underperforms again

Over the course of the third quarter of 2007, the MSCI Healthcare sector was toward the bottom end of the league table of quarterly returns once again, rising by 1.16%, slightly behind the broader market which rose by 1.95%. Despite the traditionally "defensive" nature of the healthcare sector's earnings profile, the group has not outperformed during recent market turbulence in the wake of the credit-led downturn. In general, pharmaceutical stocks are not aggressively leveraged and not particularly vulnerable to rising borrowing costs and tighter credit market conditions. In addition, due...