Financial stocks were slightly higher late in the afternoon, with the NYSE Financial Index up 0.3% and the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF) up 0.1%.
The Philadelphia housing index climbed 1.7% and the SPDR Real Estate Select Sector ETF (XLRE) was ahead 2.1%.
Bitcoin fell 5% to $20,130, while the yield on 10-year US Treasuries plunged 15.1 basis points to 3.156%.
In corporate news, Exela Technologies (XELA) jumped more than 36% after the transaction processor announced a new three-year deal with an unidentified customer worth $136 million.
Apartment Investment and Management (AIV) rose 4% after the real estate investment trust announced that Apartment Income REIT (AIRC) had agreed to cancel the leases of four of its properties in exchange for a payment of $200 million and eliminate $469 million of future lease obligations. The deal also allows Aimco to realize about $100 million in value about 18 months ahead of schedule, he said. Apartment Income REIT rose 1.1% this afternoon.
On the downside, Cboe Global Markets (CBOE) fell 0.6% after the exchange firm announced on Wednesday that it had signed a licensing agreement with Validus Macro Strategies and companies working to develop derivatives-based indices and indexes. related financial products.
First Bancorp (FBNC) was down 1.2%, roughly halving a decline of more than 2% this morning, after announcing its purchase of publicly traded GrandSouth Bancorp (GRRB) in exchange for 181.1 million dollars of its shares. The deal values GrandSouth shares at $31.43 each, 13.2% above their last closing price, with investors receiving 0.91 shares of First Bancorp for each of their GrandSouth common and preferred shares. .
