01:36 PM EDT, 07/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.6% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) ahead 0.7%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was adding 0.5%, and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) was up 0.2%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 1.4% to $65,871, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was dropping 4 basis points to 4.14%.

In economic news, US job openings fell to 8.184 million in June from 8.230 million in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The June level was above the 8 million openings expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence rose to 100.3 in July from a downwardly revised 97.8 in June and above the 99.7 expected in a Bloomberg survey.

In corporate news, Blackstone (BX) is in the early stage of talks to buy Retail Opportunity Investments ( ROIC ) , an owner of shopping centers in the US, Reuters reported Tuesday. Blackstone shares were shedding 0.6% while Retail Opportunity surged more than 17%.