01:34 PM EDT, 03/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks advanced in Wednesday afternoon trading with the NYSE Financial Index up 0.4% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) gaining 0.5%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index added 0.2%, and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) fell 0.3%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 2.3% to $84,620, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries climbed 3.3 basis points to 4.31%.

In economic news, the Fed's monetary policy decision for March is due at 2 pm ET, and Powell is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 pm. The central bank likely held its benchmark lending rate unchanged in the 4.25% to 4.5% target range, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

In corporate news, BlackRock ( BLK ) and insurers Allianz and T&D are investing 3.5 billion euros ($3.81 billion) in European life insurance consolidation platform Viridium. BlackRock ( BLK ) shares fell 0.7%.