Financial stocks advanced in Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) ahead 0.4%.
The Philadelphia Housing Index was decreasing 0.3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was down 0.6%.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was falling 3.1% to $77,812, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 5.6 basis points to 4.728%.
In economic news, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said Friday that the central bank's primary focus should be on prices, given that the US is doing well on the employment front. Delivering his debut Jackson Hole speech as Fed chief, Warsh said inflation numbers were concerning. "The comparable measures from the consumer price index are also elevated, as are the core measures of both PCE and CPI inflation," Warsh said. "None of these measures are perfect, but they all tell a similar story: Inflation is running above our 2% target. So the Fed's predominant focus right now should be on prices."
Separately, US consumer sentiment dropped in August amid concerns that inflation will continue to be high for the "foreseeable future," final results of a University of Michigan survey showed Friday. The main sentiment index fell 6.3% sequentially to 51.7 this month. The gauge for current economic conditions decreased to 51.9 from 54.8, while the index of consumer expectations slid 7% to 51.5, according to the survey.
In corporate news, PayPal (PYPL) shares fell past 12% after Bloomberg reported Friday that Advent and Stripe have abandoned their $50 billion bid to buy the company.
Affirm (AFRM) shares gained 4.7% after it reported late Thursday a surge in fiscal Q4 earnings and sales, and issued an upbeat fiscal Q1 sales outlook.
UBS (UBS) raised 2 billion yuan ($297.5 million) via its debut panda bond in China's onshore market, highlighting growing demand among international issuers for lower borrowing costs, Bloomberg reported. UBS shares rose 0.9%.
Iren (IREN) shares fell nearly 14% after the company reported late Thursday Q4 revenue of $137.2 million, down from $187 million a year ago.