Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Late Afternoon

03:51 PM EDT, 09/25/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in late Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.8% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.5%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was up 1%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 0.3%. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 0.5% to $83,994, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries increased 2 basis points to 5.18%. In economic news, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was revised upwards to a reading of 48.1 for September from 47.8 in the preliminary estimate. That was still below the final reading of 51.7 in August. In geopolitical news, Iran floated a conditional proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and resume talks over its nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key crude and energy chokepoint, and restart talks on its nuclear program if Washington accepts its conditions, CNBC reported Friday, citing Araghchi's remarks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Separately, President Donald Trump described his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House as "very productive" for both nations. Washington and Beijing have agreed to extend their trade truce by two months to January. In corporate news, Blackstone's (BX) global head of private equity, Joseph Baratta, is preparing to leave the firm, The Wall Street Journal reported. Blackstone shares were up 0.9%. Blue Owl Capital's (OWL) Stack Infrastructure unit faces a one-year delay to its Jupiter data center project in New Mexico, Reuters reported Friday, citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter. Media outlets reported Thursday that Oracle (ORCL) issued a force majeure notice to Stack, seeking to defer payments if the project is delayed and does not begin operating in 2028 as planned. Blue Owl shares were 0.4% higher. UBS (UBS) has restarted talks about ways to move the bank out from under Swiss regulators' jurisdiction, including through a possible combination with a foreign bank, Semafor reported. UBS shares were up 2.5%. Assured Guaranty's (AGO) unit Assured Guaranty agreed to provide up to $248 million in financing as part of Brightline Florida's restructuring, including for some Chapter 11 entities, the company said. Assured Guaranty shares were adding 2.5%.