Sector Update: Financial Stocks Lower in Afternoon Trading

01:50 PM EDT, 10/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks declined in Monday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.8% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) shedding 0.7%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was declining 1.2%. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was easing 0.2% to $81,834, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 5 basis points to 5.15%. In corporate news, Fifth Third Bancorp's (FITB) Q3 profit topped Wall Street's estimates as net interest income rose, while its chief executive highlighted the bank's strengths amid macro headwinds and stiff deposit competition. Its shares added 0.7%. Blackstone (BX) has raised $8.7 billion for Blackstone Energy Transition Partners V, a new fund dedicated to cleaner energy, the company said Monday. The latest fund is more than 50% larger than its predecessor vehicle, the company said. Separately, Anthropic has offered Blackstone a yield of more than 10% on its investment as part of a larger $60 billion debt package to finance the AI firm's latest chip deal, the Financial Times reported Saturday. Blackstone shares rose 0.4%. KKR (KKR) has signed a definitive deal to sell railcar and intermodal equipment lessor Infinity Transportation to Ares Management's (ARES) Ares Infrastructure Equity and Ares Insurance Solutions funds for an enterprise value of about $2.9 billion, the companies said. KKR and Ares shares each rose 0.9%.