Sector Update: Financial Stocks Advance Late Afternoon

03:55 PM EST, 01/06/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks rose in late Tuesday afternoon trading with the NYSE Financial Index up 0.4% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) adding 0.6%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index increased 0.7%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) gained 0.9%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 1.5% to $92,479, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 1.4 basis points to 4.18%.

In economic news, the US services sector grew last month at the slowest pace since April amid weak business inflows and employment volumes, while the outlook deteriorated, S&P Global (SPGI) said. The firm's services purchasing managers' index fell to 52.5 in December from 54.1 the previous month.

In corporate news, Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) and Comerica (CMA) said Tuesday that their shareholders have approved the proposed merger, clearing the way for a Q1 closing. Fifth Third shares rose 2.4%, and Comerica (CMA) added 2.4%.

TPG (TPG) will make a $500 million minority investment in Jackson Financial (JXN) as part of a long-term strategic partnership that includes an investment-management arrangement. TPG shares rose 3.4%, and Jackson climbed 3.3%. Separately, TPG is close to buying the UK operation of UnitedHealth Group's (UNH) Optum unit, Sky News reported.

American International Group (AIG) said CEO Peter Zaffino will step down after more than five years in the job and shift to executive chair from chairman by mid-year. AIG shares fell past 7%.

KKR (KKR) is among the top bidders seeking to acquire TPG's XCL Education, a Southeast Asian K-12 private-school chain valued at up to $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. KKR shares rose 1.1%.

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