Financial stocks were mixed in late Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index fractionally higher and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) slightly lower.
The Philadelphia Housing Index was down 0.5%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 0.5%.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was easing 0.6% to $78,451, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 2.1 basis points to 4.66%.
In economic news, the headline personal consumption expenditure price index rose by 0.2% in July, following a 0.1% decline in the prior month, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday. That's above the consensus for a 0.1% gain in a Bloomberg-compiled survey, keeping the annual headline rate at 3.7%, which also exceeded the expected 3.6% print.
The Fed's preferred core measure, which excludes food and energy, climbed 0.2%, as expected. That's faster than the June print of 0.1%. The annual core gauge held steady at 3.3%, as projected.
Separately, US economic growth, measured by gross domestic product, rose by 1.5% in Q2, unrevised from the advance estimate released last month, as expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. GDP rose by 2.1% in Q1. New orders for US durable goods rose 1.1% in July, up from 0.5% in the previous month, compared with expectations of a smaller increase of 0.5% in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
In corporate news, Victory Capital (VCTR) shares gained 4.6% after the firm said it has agreed to buy First Eagle Investments, a privately held global asset manager, for about $7 billion.
StepStone (STEP) shares rose 0.1% after it said Wednesday it secured $1.7 billion in capital commitments for StepStone Secondaries Infrastructure Fund and related separate accounts.
Blackstone (BX) has received European Commission approval to acquire joint control of Eurowind Energy alongside Denmark's Norlys and EWE Holding, the Commission said. Blackstone shares were down 0.2%.
Major banks, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), are becoming more open to launching their own stablecoins despite earlier doubts about demand, The Wall Street Journal reported. JPMorgan shares were little changed.