Financial stocks were advancing in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.4%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was adding 1.1%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 0.3%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 1.2% to $64,692, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was slightly lower at 4.625%.

In economic news, US private-sector employment increased less than expected in July as the gains were concentrated in just services, ADP (ADP) data showed Wednesday, ahead of the official nonfarm payrolls report for the month due later in the week. Private employers added 44,000 jobs in July, below the 65,000 increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The hiring total for June was revised to 95,000 from 98,000, ADP said.

In corporate news, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has reached out to CEOs of other large banks and IT companies, urging them to join a group seeking to address risks posed by AI, Reuters reported. JPMorgan shares were up 1%.

Morgan Stanley (MS) is leading a consortium of banks planning to refinance through bond sales $15 billion of debt linked to a Google-backed data center in Texas that has been leased to Anthropic, the Financial Times reported. Morgan Stanley shares rose 1.1%.

Ares Management (ARES) and Three Hills Capital are in talks to provide loans to Toscafund Asset Management to help finance its acquisition of Spire Healthcare Group, Bloomberg reported. Ares shares were down 2.7%.