Sector Update: Financial Stocks Decline Wednesday Afternoon

02:01 PM EDT, 09/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were lower in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index shedding 0.9% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) decreasing 0.7%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was shedding 0.8%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was down 0.6%. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was up 0.5% to $84,081, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 4.7 basis points to 5.30%. In economic news, the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index grew 0.3% in August, as expected, keeping the year-over-year move at 3.4%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis Wednesday. The index edged up 0.1% month-over-month in July. Core PCE climbed 0.2%, below the 0.3% expected and a 0.1% gain in July. The year-over-year rate remained at 3.0%. However, personal consumption expenditures jumped 0.9%, as expected, after a 0.1% move in July. Real PCE, which excludes inflation, advanced 0.6%, following a 0.1% gain in July, and compared with expectations for a 0.5% increase. The Atlanta Federal Reserve's Nowcast Q3 GDP growth estimate fell to 3.7% from a previous forecast of 5.0%. The Institute for Supply Management's Chicago PMI rose to 58.8 in September from 47.1 in August, above the 51.0 anticipated in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. In corporate news, Peoples Bancorp (PEBO) and Capital Bancorp (CBNK) agreed to combine in an all-stock deal valued at $728.1 million. Peoples shares were down 5%, while Capital rose 11%. Charles Schwab (SCHW) said Wednesday it launched its new generative AI-powered assistant Charley, with a phased rollout starting in October to eligible US retail clients on schwab.com and Schwab Mobile. Shares were down 0.7%. Robinhood (HOOD) said it has launched Robinhood Agents, an in-app AI tool, and announced plans to offer perpetual futures and 24/7 trading of some US equities and ETFs. Shares were falling 2.9%. KKR-backed (KKR) medical device maker PHC is in talks to be acquired by Toho for over 200 billion Japanese yen ($1.27 billion), Bloomberg reported. KKR shares were down 1.6%.