Looking Askance at Biotech After ASCO

The meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology is over. And while fears of an "ASCO fiasco" didn't quite materialize, the cancer research confab didn't produce any standout performances, either, at least from Wall Street's perspectives.

The biotech sector -- bruised and battered this year -- reacted accordingly. Positive news at ASCO was discounted, while negative news was amplified -- that's what happens when skeptics rule the markets.

"This year's ASCO meeting was more incremental than anything else," says Salomon Smith Barney biotech analyst Elise Wang, who was among the 25,000 attendees walking the cavernous Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., for four days. "Results from key drugs were generally in line with expectations, so there wasn't any major news to report." ...