02:30 PM EDT, 03/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in Monday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 1.2% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.8%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was adding 1%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) gained 1.1%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 3.5% to $74,237.5, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was dropping 6.3 basis points to 4.22%.

In economic news, industrial production rose 0.2% in February, compared with 0.7% in January and higher than 0.1% forecast by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Manufacturing output rose 0.2% in February from 0.8% in the month earlier and above the 0.1% expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

The National Association of Home Builders' monthly housing market index rose to 38 in March from an upwardly revised print of 37 in the month earlier, and higher than the 37 estimated in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In corporate news, a JPMorgan Chase ( JPM )-led (JPM) group of Wall Street banks started a $5.75 billion cross-border leveraged loan sale to help finance Electronic Arts' (EA) buyout, Bloomberg reported. JPMorgan ( JPM ) shares added 0.7%.

Public Storage ( PSA ) agreed to acquire smaller self-storage facilities operator National Storage Affiliates Trust ( NSA ) in an all-stock deal worth about $10.5 billion, expanding its presence in high-growth markets. Public Storage ( PSA ) shares were down 1.6%, and National Storage jumped past 30%.

Apollo Global Management ( APO ) is in talks to purchase a significant minority stake in Syntegon in a deal valuing the German packaging machine maker at up to 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion), Bloomberg reported. Apollo shares decreased 0.7%.