01:57 PM EST, 01/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 1%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was climbing 3.5%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) added 1.1%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was marginally lower at $91,082, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 4 basis points to 4.17%.

In economic news, US initial jobless claims rose to a level of 208,000 in the week ended Jan. 3 from an upwardly revised 200,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for an increase to 212,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

President Donald Trump said he has made up his mind on who he will nominate to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, but he did not disclose the name, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing an interview with the president.

In corporate news, Fiserv ( FISV ) is launching a collaboration with Microsoft (MSFT) to expand AI use across its platforms and workforce. Fiserv ( FISV ) will roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot company-wide to support employees with AI-powered tools. Fiserv ( FISV ) shares rose 2.1%.

StoneX's ( SNEX ) StoneX Digital unit has taken a minority stake in Enhanced Digital Group as it led the latter's Series A financing under a new partnership to expand their respective digital asset offerings, the companies said Thursday. StoneX ( SNEX ) shares were down 0.7%.

Jefferies Financial ( JEF ) shares were down more than 6% after it reported fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.96 per diluted share, compared with the $1.04 estimate from an analyst polled by FactSet.

HSBC ( HSBC ) has agreed to pay 267.5 million euros ($312.3 million) to the French government to settle alleged fraud charges related to dividend tax payments. HSBC ( HSBC ) shares rose 0.1%.