Sector Update: Financial Stocks Gain Late Afternoon

04:01 PM EDT, 03/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in late Monday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 1.7% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) adding 1.3%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was up 3.3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) added 1%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 4.4% to $70,932, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries fell 5.7 basis points to 4.33%.

In economic news, US construction spending fell 0.3% in January, compared with a 0.1% gain expected in a Bloomberg survey, following an upwardly revised 0.8% rise in December.

In corporate news, a JPMorgan Chase (JPM)-led (JPM) group of Wall Street banks launched a sale of junk bonds totaling $8 billion to fund the leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts (EA), Bloomberg reported. JPMorgan (JPM) shares rose 1.3%.

Mastercard (MA) was saddled with a bill in millions of dollars after Banco Master failed and left it responsible to pay retailers that processed cardholder payments from the Brazilian bank's fintech, Bloomberg reported. Mastercard (MA) shares were up 1%.

Apollo Global Management (APO) and Bain Capital are among private-equity firms bidding to buy Continental AG's industrial unit, Bloomberg reported. Apollo shares were down 0.3%.

Selective Insurance Group (SIGI) appears to be improving its reserve position, especially in commercial auto liability, RBC said in a note. RBC has an outperform rating and a $95 price target. Selective Insurance (SIGI) shares added 1.6%.

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