Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
Financial stocks were advancing in late Monday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index increasing 0.6% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) adding 0.8%.The Philadelphia Housing Index rose 0.4%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was decreasing 0.8%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was falling 2.6% to $76,605, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 2.6 basis points to 4.336%.In economic news, the Dallas Fed's monthly manufacturing index fell to minus 2.3 in April from minus 0.2 in March, compared with expectations for a 0.8 print. The index indicates faster contraction, in contrast with other regional manufacturing readings already released.In corporate news, First Bancorp (FBP) shares gained 3.6% in Monday trading after Raymond James upgraded the company's stock to strong buy from outperform and raised its price target to $27 from $26.Investors in a Blue Owl Capital (OWL) business development company tendered less than 1% of shares to Boaz Weinstein's Saba Capital Management and Cox Capital Partners, which had offered to buy them out at a significant discount, Bloomberg reported. Blue Owl Capital shares were down 2.3%.Citigroup (C) plans to strengthen its investment banking divisions in Japan and China by recruiting upper-level executives to capture additional buyout opportunities, Reuters reported, citing the firm's regional division head, Kaustubh Kulkarni. Citi shares added 1%.Oppenheimer (OPY) shares climbed 4.9% after the company said its Oppenheimer & Co. unit agreed to pay $70 million to settle a class-action lawsuit tied to its cash sweep program, avoiding a trial where damages could have exceeded $440 million.