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Sector Update: Financial Stocks Edge Higher Late Afternoon

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Financial stocks edged up in late Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index up 0.1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) 0.2% higher.

The Philadelphia Housing Index rose 1.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was up 1.8%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was shedding 0.8% to $64,191, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 2.4 basis points to 4.569%.

In economic news, US retail sales rose 0.2% in June, following a 1.0% gain in the prior month, and meeting expectations in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Initial jobless claims dropped to 208,000 in the week ended July 11 from 216,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for an increase to 217,000.

In corporate news, Apollo Global Management (APO) plans to allocate as much as $20 billion to financing projects in Mexico as it seeks new opportunities for its private credit business, Bloomberg reported. Apollo shares were up 0.7%.

BlackRock (BLK) delivered a largely clean Q2 performance, with margin expansion reinforcing confidence that organic base fee growth can be sustained at the high end of guidance, UBS said in a note. UBS kept its buy rating and raised the price target to $1,320 from $1,270. BlackRock shares were down 0.7%.

U.S. Bancorp (USB) and State Street (STT) reported higher Q2 earnings year over year on Thursday, as both lenders topped revenue estimates amid strong net interest income and fee-based gains. U.S. Bancorp shares rose 1.5%, and State Street was shedding 0.8%.

Voya Financial (VOYA) has attracted informal takeover interest in recent weeks, though no talks are underway and the company's management and board are not seeking a transaction, Semafor reported. Voya shares rose 1.4%.

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