03:32 PM EDT, 07/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were narrowly mixed in Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index down 0.2% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) fractionally higher.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was shedding 0.6%, while the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) was up 0.1%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 1.3% to $117,740, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was dropping 3 basis points to 4.43%.

In economic news, the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 61.8 in July from 60.7 in June, and was ahead of Bloomberg's consensus forecast of 61.5.

June housing starts increased 4.6% from May to an annualized rate of 1.321 million, topping Bloomberg estimates of 1.300 million. Building permits edged up 0.2% to 1.397 million, beating expectations and reversing the prior month's dip.

In corporate news, Invesco ( IVZ ) shares jumped 15% after the company said a unit filed a preliminary statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to reclassify its tech exchange-traded fund QQQ Trust Series 1 as an open-ended fund.