Sector Update: Financial Stocks Decline in Afternoon Trading
Financial stocks were lower Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Financial Index falling 1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.8%.The Philadelphia Housing Index dropped 3.3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 0.7%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 1.9% to $80,023, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 7.6 basis points to 4.45%.In economic news, new orders for US factory goods rose by 1.5% in March, above expectations for a 0.6% gain in a Bloomberg-compiled survey, following a revised 0.3% increase in February. Excluding a 0.8% rebound in transportation orders, new orders would have been up 1.6%, above a 1.3% gain expected and the same as in February.In corporate news, American Express Global Business Travel, which is operated by Global Business Travel (GBTG), on Monday agreed to be acquired by Long Lake Management in an all-cash deal worth about $6.3 billion. Global Business Travel shares surged 57%.Blackstone (BX) Digital Infrastructure Trust set its initial public offering at 87.5 million shares with an anticipated price of $20 per share, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Blackstone shares were down 0.9%.JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), SMBC and MUFG (MUFG) are exploring ways to distribute data center-related debt to broader investors as AI infrastructure financing strains bank balance sheets, the Financial Times reported. The banks are looking at private loan sales and significant risk transfers, or SRTs, to reduce exposure to large individual borrowers and free up lending capacity, the report said. JPMorgan Chase shares fell 1.4%, Morgan Stanley was shedding 0.9%, and MUFG decreased 0.3%.