Sector Update: Financial Stocks Lower in Afternoon Trading

01:59 PM EDT, 09/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks declined in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.7% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.6%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 0.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was down 0.3%. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 1% to $83,026, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 4.3 basis points to 5.29%. In economic news, the Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence fell to 81.9 in September from 88.6 in the month prior, compared with an expected rise to 89.0 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. US job openings in August declined to 7.079 million from 7.335 million openings in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared with 7.228 million openings expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday that US single-family home prices in July rose 0.3% nationwide, after a flat reading in the previous month, and above the 0.1% gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The Case-Shiller National Home Price index increased by 0.1% in July before seasonal adjustment, after a 0.4% increase in June. National home prices rose 1.9% year-over-year in July, up from 1.6% in the month prior. In corporate news, Piper Sandler (PIPR) has been in talks to acquire Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) in a deal that could be finalized soon, The Wall Street Journal reported. Discussions are underway, but a deal is not guaranteed, the report said. Piper Sandler shares were down 5.9%, and Perella Weinberg jumped past 13%. Fair Isaac (FICO) shares fell past 26% after US Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said late Monday on X that VantageScore will join the existing FICO classic mortgage pricing grid. VantageScore is operated by VantageScore Solutions, a private joint venture owned by Equifax (EFX), Experian and TransUnion (TRU). Equifax and TransUnion shares were down 4.1% and 4.8%, respectively. BlackRock (BLK) and Vanguard face growing competition from European banks launching their own exchange-traded funds as they seek to retain more investment fees from retail customers, the Financial Times reported. Santander (SAN), ING (ING), UniCredit and Commerzbank have launched ETFs or filed plans with regulators since the start of the year, while Revolut has registered a platform for ETFs and mutual funds, the report said. BlackRock shares were decreasing 0.4%.