Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise in Afternoon Trading

01:30 PM EDT, 08/29/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index up 0.3% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) ahead 0.5%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was down 0.5%, and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) added 0.3%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 3.3% to $108,795, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 2 basis points to 4.22%.

In economic news, the personal consumption expenditures price index rose by 0.2% in July, as expected in a survey conducted by Bloomberg, keeping the year-over-year rate at 2.6%. The core PCE, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge that excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.3%, as expected and following a 0.3% rise in June. The year-over-year rate accelerated to 2.9% from 2.8% the previous month.

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was revised lower to 58.2 for August from its preliminary estimate of 58.6, versus expectations for no revision in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In corporate news, PayPal (PYPL) is working with local banks to fix any remaining issues after a major outage disrupted payments in Germany, Reuters reported, citing a company spokesperson. The company reportedly confirmed the problem has been resolved. PayPal (PYPL) shares were rising 0.1%.

Accelerant (ARX) shares fell past 11% after RBC Capital Markets cut its price target on the company to $29 from $33 following its Q2 results.

UK bank shares fell on Friday after the Institute for Public Policy Research said the UK Treasury should introduce a windfall tax on bank profits to recoup taxpayer losses from the Bank of England's quantitative easing program. Shares of Barclays (BCS) , NatWest (NWG) , Lloyds (LYG) and HSBC (HSBC) were down 2%, 4.8%, 3.5% and 0.7%, respectively.

MT Newswires does not provide investment advice. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.