01:31 PM EDT, 03/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks advanced Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.4% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) ahead 0.6%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index climbed 1.1%, and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) eased 0.1%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) gained 2% to $72,936, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 2 basis points to 4.17%.

In corporate news, PayPal ( PYPL ) shares gained 3.8% after the company appointed Aaron Webster as chief enterprise services officer, starting March 18. Webster most recently was chief risk officer and global head of operations at SoFi (SOFI).