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Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Late Afternoon

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Financial stocks advanced in late Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 1.2% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) adding 1%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index climbed 3.2%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was up 0.4%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) gained 3.2% to $63,436, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries dropped 8.3 basis points to 4.459%.

In economic news, core producer price index, which excludes the more volatile food and energy prices, increased by 0.4% in May, slower than the 0.5% gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled poll and following a 0.7% gain in April. Core PPI remained at 4.9% year-over-year, but below the 5.4% consensus.

US initial jobless claims rose to a level of 229,000 in the week ended June 6 from an unrevised level of 225,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for an increase to 220,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

In sector news, the US Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling, blocking activist investors from suing closed-end mutual funds over maneuvers they take to avoid activist-investor takeovers. Saba Capital Master Fund, which led the suing investors, alleged that such moves, like incorporating in favorable jurisdictions, violate the Investment Company Act of 1940.

In corporate news, Citigroup (C) launched tokenized depositary receipts for private-company shares, expanding its use of blockchain technology in private markets. Citi shares rose 3.6%.

BlackRock (BLK) placed an order to buy at least $5 billion worth of SpaceX shares, the Wall Street Journal reported. Individual investors placed more than $70 billion in orders, and the company also attracted demand from sovereign wealth funds and family offices, including a single family office order of over $1 billion, the report said. BlackRock shares were up 0.8%.

KKR (KKR) and co-investors will acquire a majority stake in Chicago-based accounting firm Crowe in a $3 billion deal, The Wall Street Journal reported. Separately, KKR said it launched Helix Digital Infrastructure, a platform with over $10 billion in committed capital to finance AI infrastructure. KKR shares were up 0.1%.

Charles Schwab (SCHW) said Thursday that it has lowered expense ratios on four of its equity index ETFs, including funds tracking US mid-cap, small-cap, international small-cap, and emerging markets stocks. Its shares eased 0.1%.

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Sector Update: Energy Stocks Rise Late Afternoon

Energy stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) climbing 1.8%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was adding 0.7%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index decreased 0.1%.Crude oil prices rose Wednesday after President Donald Trump said Iran will have to "pay the price" for taking too long to agree to a peace deal. US forces launched airstrikes Tuesday against Iran after Tehran shot down an American Apache helicopter, Central Command said. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on American military bases across Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, media reports said.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.5% to $90.42 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract added 2.1% to $93.41 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures advanced 1.2% to $3.18 per 1 million BTU.In sector news, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 15.2 million barrels in the week ended June 5 following a decrease of 16.0 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 7.2 million barrels after an 8.0-million-barrel decline in the previous week and compared with a 2.2-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.Separately, OpenAI is in advanced talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio, The Information reported. The AI company is discussing a 20-year lease for the site, which is currently being developed by SoftBank Group unit SB Energy on US Department of Energy property, the report said.In corporate news, Devon Energy (DVN) shares jumped nearly 6% after Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to outperform from in line with a $54 price target. Devon said it expects the combined company following its merger with Coterra Energy to produce an average of 1.38 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, including 500,000 barrels per day of oil.APA (APA) shares gained 4.3% after the company said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Savant Alaska for about $70 million in upfront consideration, plus contingent payments related to the development of APA's eastern North Slope portfolio.Petrobras (PBR) agreed to acquire a 50% stake in the Itaimbezinho block in the offshore Campos Basin in southeastern Brazil from Equinor (EQNR) unit Equinor Brasil Energia for an undisclosed amount. Petrobras shares rose 2.1%, and Equinor climbed 2.7%.Entergy (ETR) shares added 1% after Evercore ISI upgraded the company to outperform from in line and lifted its price target to $121 from $115.

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Sectors

Sector Update: Financial Stocks Softer Late Afternoon

Financial stocks were lower in late Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index down 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) decreasing 0.2%.The Philadelphia Housing Index fell 2.8%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) added 0.2%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was fractionally lower at $61,685, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 1.4 basis points to 4.542%.In economic news, the US seasonally adjusted consumer price index, a measure of inflation, rose by 0.5% in May, as expected, following a 0.6% increase in April, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.2%, below the consensus estimate for a 0.3% increase. Core CPI rose by 0.4% in April. The year-over-year rates for overall and core CPI increased to 4.2% and 2.9%, respectively, from 3.8% and 2.8% in the previous month.In corporate news, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) are among the major US banks that have received subpoenas from the Justice Department seeking information over whether they "debanked" clients for political reasons, The Wall Street Journal reported. JPMorgan shares were down 0.4%, and Bank of America rose 0.7%.Visa (V) said Wednesday its payment services will be integrated into OpenAI's platform to allow retailers to accept purchases from AI agents. Visa shares were shedding 0.4%.Nasdaq (NDAQ) Verafin is launching a new set of agentic workers, beginning with the Agentic AML Analyst and the Agentic Fraud Analyst, the firm said. The shares were down 0.8%.Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) is expanding its offerings for wealthy investors in Japan, targeting infrastructure, real estate, and private credit as hedges against inflation, Nikkei reported. Brookfield shares were falling 3.2%.

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Sectors

Sector Update: Tech Stocks Fall Late Afternoon

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