Financial stocks were higher in Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.8% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.4%.
The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 1.5%.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 1.4% to $64,775, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 3.5 basis points to 4.657%.
In economic news, the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index fell 0.1% in June, as expected, cutting the year-over-year rate to 3.7% from 4.1%. The price index rose by 0.5% month-over-month in May. The core PCE price index climbed 0.1% in June, below the 0.2% gain expected and following a 0.3% growth in May. The year-over-year rate dropped to 3.3% from 3.4%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
US economic growth slowed more than expected in Q2, though consumer spending seemed to shrug off intensifying price measures. Real gross domestic product increased at a 1.5% annualized rate in the quarter ended June, according to an advance estimate released Thursday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. A survey compiled by Bloomberg indicated a slowdown to 2% from the first quarter's 2.1% rate.
In corporate news, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) agreed to buy electronic trading platform MarketAxess (MKTX) for about $6 billion, creating a powerhouse that aims to serve "every segment of the fixed income market." Intercontinental shares were down 0.1%, and MarketAxess surged 29%.
Mastercard (MA) reported better-than-expected Q2 results on Thursday, buoyed by double-digit growth in cross-border volume and healthy spending. Its shares rose 2.8%.
Blackstone (BX) agreed to buy a home loan portfolio in Australia from HSBC (HSBC) worth 36 billion Australian dollars ($25 billion), Bloomberg reported. Blackstone shares were down 0.5%, and HSBC gained 4.5%.
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