03:35 PM EDT, 06/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were mixed late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Financial Index up 0.1% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) fractionally lower.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was adding 0.2%, and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) rose 0.4%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 0.6% to $104,036, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was little changed at 4.38%.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged for a fourth straight meeting, while acknowledging that economic uncertainty has dropped. The Federal Open Market Committee left interest rates in the range of 4.25% to 4.50%, in line with Wall Street's expectations. Policymakers lowered rates by 50 basis points in September and by 25 basis points each in November and December.

Separately, the seasonally adjusted number of initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 245,000 for the week ended June 14, government data showed, in line with a Bloomberg-compiled consensus. The previous week's reading was revised up by 2,000 to 250,000. The four-week moving average totaled 245,500, its highest level since August 2023.

In sector news, US regulators, including the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC, are planning to reduce the supplementary leverage ratio by up to 1.5%, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The change would lower capital requirements for the largest US banks, such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS), from 5% to a range of 3.5% to 4.5%, the report said.

In corporate news, Brookfield Wealth Solutions ( BNT ) has mostly withdrawn from private credit investments as rising demand shrinks yields, Bloomberg reported, citing the company's Chief Executive, Sachin Shah. Brookfield shares were rising 3%.