Sector Update: Financial Stocks Mixed Wednesday Afternoon
Financial stocks were mixed in 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 0.2%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 0.4%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 0.7% to $78,009, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was adding 2.5 basis points to 4.664%.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 sector news, California Senate Democrats are backing a proposal that would not limit insurers from suing utility companies to recover wildfire-related payouts to policyholders, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing a proposal. The measure puts lawmakers at odds with Governor Gavin Newsom, who is pushing changes to how financial responsibility is assigned for wildfires caused by equipment owned by publicly traded utilities, Bloomberg said.In corporate news, Victory Capital (VCTR) shares gained 4.3% after the firm said it has agreed to buy First Eagle Investments, a privately-held global asset manager, for about $7 billion.WisdomTree (WT) continues to benefit from strong assets under management inflows and recent strategic acquisitions, supporting a more favorable valuation outlook, Oppenheimer said in a note. WisdomTree shares rose 1.9%.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%.
