Sector Update: Financial Stocks Fall Thursday Afternoon

02:04 PM EDT, 03/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were lower in Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index falling 1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.6%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index dropped 1.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) shed 0.5%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was falling 2.3% to $69,705, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 2.6 basis points to nearly 4.29%.

In economic news, US new-home sales fell to a 587,000 annual rate in January from a 712,000 rate in December, and lower than the 722,000 expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

In the week ending March 14, initial jobless claims were 205,000, down from 213,000 in the week earlier and below the 215,000 estimated by analysts polled by Bloomberg.

In corporate news, Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) are among a number of investment banks offering their hedge fund clients ways to short the $1.8 trillion private credit market, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The banks have compiled groups of listed companies with exposure to the space, the report said. Goldman shares were down 0.1%, and JPMorgan (JPM) was shedding 0.5%.

Deutsche Bank (DB) former executive Michele Faissola is suing the bank for as much as 500 million pounds ($669 million) in the UK, alleging the lender caused irreparable damage to his career, Bloomberg reported. Four ex-employees have sued the German bank in English courts and are seeking more than 600 million pounds combined over the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena accounting scandal, the report said. Deutsche shares were down 0.8%.

HSBC (HSBC) is planning deep job cuts over the coming years as AI is expected to trim the UK lender's middle and back offices, Bloomberg reported. The expected cuts will impact non-customer facing roles the most, although the plan is in its early stage, the report said. HSBC (HSBC) shares fell 1.5%.

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