Financial stocks were lower in Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index shedding 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.4%.
The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.1%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was down 0.6%.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was rising 2% to $80,568, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was steady at 4.664%.
In economic news, the advance international trade in goods deficit widened to $118.81 billion in July from $101.41 billion in June, according to data released by the US Census Bureau. This was a wider gap than the $100.5 billion deficit expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
US initial jobless claims fell to 203,000 in the week ended Aug. 22 from an upwardly revised 207,000 in the previous week, in contrast with expectations for an increase to 208,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.
In corporate news, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are clashing over pending changes to the Federal Reserve's capital surcharge on global systemically important banks, or GSIB, Reuters reported. The Federal Reserve proposed changes to the surcharge in March, including revised policies on short-term wholesale funding, to make the levy more risk-sensitive, the report said. Sources said JPMorgan and Bank of America argued that the proposal would benefit rivals Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, Reuters reported. JPMorgan shares were down 0.4%, Bank of America shed 1%, Goldman rose 0.1%, and Morgan Stanley advanced 0.4%.
Enbridge (ENB) has entered into a definitive agreement with KKR (KKR) to form a joint venture that will invest about $2.7 billion Canadian dollars ($1.94 billion) to fund the expansion of the Aspen Point and Sunrise programs on the Westcoast natural gas pipeline system, the company said Thursday. Separately, KKR has agreed to settle for $250 million a US Department of Justice lawsuit accusing the firm of repeatedly violating federal pre-merger filing rules, the regulator said Wednesday. KKR shares rose 1%.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) shares were up 1% after the company reported higher fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue.