01:52 PM EDT, 06/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were rising Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Financial Index adding 0.4% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) up 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was climbing 1%, and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) was increasing 0.6%

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was rising 0.3% to $104,177, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was dropping 3 basis points to 4.36%.

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 economic news, the Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision at 2 pm ET, with Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to hold a news conference at 2:30 pm. Markets are widely expecting the Federal Open Market Committee to hold its key lending rate steady, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

US housing starts fell more than projected last month, driven by a sharp slump in multi-family projects, government data showed Wednesday. Housing starts tumbled 9.8% sequentially to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.26 million units in May, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The consensus in a Bloomberg survey was for a 0.8% decline, based on an unrevised print for April.

In corporate news, Morgan Stanley ( MS ) is assigning a new designation of "founders specialist" to roughly 200 of its financial advisers to address the needs of clients with wealth concentrated in a private company, Bloomberg reported, citing Jed Finn, head of the bank's wealth management segment. Morgan Stanley ( MS ) shares rose 1.7%.

Slide Insurance (SLDE) shares surged over 18% in their Nasdaq debut Wednesday after the company priced its IPO of 24 million shares at $17 per share.

Korn Ferry ( KFY ) shares jumped 8% after the company reported improved fiscal Q4 earnings and revenue that surpassed analysts' expectations.

Blackstone (BX) sees a $200 billion investment potential in European credit deals over the next decade amid factors such as an improved fiscal and monetary environment in the region, Bloomberg reported, citing a company executive. Blackstone shares were adding 1.7%.