Sector Update: Financial Stocks Decline in Afternoon Trading

Financial stocks were lower in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index dropping 1.6% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) falling 1.5%. The Philadelphia Housing Index fell 2.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was down 1.2%. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 2.9% to $62,075, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 4.8 basis points to 4.58%. In economic news, the minutes from the Fed's policy meeting on June 16-17 are due at 2 pm ET. Investors will parse the views on the direction of interest rates at a time when the market is pricing in hikes. The probability of a 25-basis-point increase in rates is the highest among all other policy outcomes in September, October, and December, the CME FedWatch tool showed Wednesday. In corporate news, Truist Financial (TFC) faces a tough road ahead amid a leadership change and higher interest rates, BofA Securities said, joining other brokerages that recently downgraded their ratings on the regional bank. BofA lowered Truist's rating to neutral from buy, with a price target of $56. The downgrade follows recent rating cuts by Morgan Stanley, UBS Securities and.