01:51 PM EDT, 03/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index adding 0.4% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) ahead 0.6%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was up 0.4%, while the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) was fractionally lower.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 0.5% to $70,104.8, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was less than one basis point down at 4.25%.

In economic news, durable goods orders rose 1.4% in February, compared with a revised 6.9% drop in January, beating the consensus for an increase of 1%.

The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence slipped to 104.7 in March from 104.8 in February, below the 107 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The Case-Shiller National Home Price Index fell 0.1% in January before seasonal adjustment following a 0.4% decrease in December.

In corporate news, Visa (V) and Mastercard ( MA ) on Tuesday agreed to lower credit card fees and not increase them for a period of five years, as part of a settlement of a long-running case between the payments processors and US merchants. Visa shares rose 0.4% and Mastercard ( MA ) was up 0.3%.

First National ( FXNC ) said Tuesday it has agreed to buy Touchstone Bankshares in an all-stock deal that values Touchstone at about $47 million or $14.25 per share. First National ( FXNC ) shares fell 7.1%.

AppFolio ( APPF ) shares jumped 10.6% after S&P Global's (SPGI) S&P Dow Jones Indices said Monday the company will replace Inari Medical (NARI) in the S&P MidCap 400.