02:07 PM EDT, 03/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were up in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index slightly higher and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) adding 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was rising 0.7%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was decreasing 0.2%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 2.4% to $69,206, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries climbed 8.9 basis points to 4.42%.

In economic news, US private-sector output growth hit an 11-month low in March as the Middle East conflict boosted input costs for businesses, S&P Global's (SPGI) data showed.

In corporate news, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ( SMFG ) has no immediate plans to acquire Jefferies (JEF), Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The Bloomberg report came after a report by the Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, suggested the Japanese lender was preparing for a possible takeover. The unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the executives are not engaged in active acquisition talks and remain mindful of regulatory hurdles that could complicate deeper integration. Jefferies shares were rising 3.1%, and Sumitomo was up 0.4%.

Janus Henderson Group ( JHG ) shares gained 2.5% after it said Tuesday that Trian Fund Management and its affiliated funds and General Catalyst Fund Management and its affiliated funds have revised their acquisition offer to $52 per share in cash, a $3 all-cash price increase.

Ares Management ( ARES ) said in a Tuesday regulatory filing that it is restricting withdrawals from its private credit fund, Ares Strategic Income Fund, to 5% of shares, or $524.5 million. The company also said it plans to repurchase 43.1% of the requested amounts and that it estimates that 11.6% of outstanding fund shares were tendered before the March 20 deadline. Ares shares were down 1.2%.