Financial stocks were advancing in Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.8% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.4%.
The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 1.5%.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 1.4% to $64,775, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 3.5 basis points to 4.657%.
In corporate news, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) agreed to buy electronic trading platform MarketAxess (MKTX) for about $6 billion, creating a powerhouse that aims to serve "every segment of the fixed income market." Intercontinental shares were down 0.3%, and MarketAxess surged 29%.