02:00 PM EDT, 03/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in Monday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 1.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) adding 1.1%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was up 3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was gaining 1.3%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 3.9% to $70,553, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was shedding 2.5 basis points to 4.37%.

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 1.8%.

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 1.8%.

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 2.2%.