02:02 PM EDT, 03/25/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) increasing 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was 0.2% higher, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was up 0.4%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 2.3% to $70,731, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was dropping 6.6 basis points to 4.33%.

In corporate news, Barclays ( BCS ) is pulling back on asset-based lending to smaller borrowers after the collapses of Market Financial Solutions and Tricolor, Bloomberg reported. The bank is shifting its focus to securitizations and loans for larger corporate clients, the report said. Barclays ( BCS ) shares rose 2.3%.

KKR (KKR) and BlackRock ( BLK )-owned (BLK) Global Infrastructure Partners are among the companies bidding for a controlling stake in superfast broadband network XpFibre, the Financial Times reported. KKR shares were down 1.2%, and BlackRock ( BLK ) rose 0.5%.

NatWest ( NWG ) shares added 1.5% after it said Wednesday it has agreed to sell its human resources advisory service Mentor to Limerston Capital-backed Empowering People Group.