04:01 PM EDT, 03/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in late Monday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 1.7% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) adding 1.3%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was up 3.3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) added 1%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 4.4% to $70,932, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries fell 5.7 basis points to 4.33%.

In economic news, US construction spending fell 0.3% in January, compared with a 0.1% gain expected in a Bloomberg survey, following an upwardly revised 0.8% rise in December.

In corporate news, a JPMorgan Chase ( JPM )-led (JPM) group of Wall Street banks launched a sale of junk bonds totaling $8 billion to fund the leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts (EA), Bloomberg reported. JPMorgan ( JPM ) shares rose 1.3%.

Mastercard ( MA ) was saddled with a bill in millions of dollars after Banco Master failed and left it responsible to pay retailers that processed cardholder payments from the Brazilian bank's fintech, Bloomberg reported. Mastercard ( MA ) shares were up 1%.

Apollo Global Management ( APO ) and Bain Capital are among private-equity firms bidding to buy Continental AG's industrial unit, Bloomberg reported. Apollo shares were down 0.3%.

Selective Insurance Group ( SIGI ) appears to be improving its reserve position, especially in commercial auto liability, RBC said in a note. RBC has an outperform rating and a $95 price target. Selective Insurance ( SIGI ) shares added 1.6%.