Financial stocks were advancing in Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.1%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index added 0.2%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) rose 0.6%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 0.8% to $76,785, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was falling 5.3 basis points to 4.953%.

In corporate news, Blackstone (BX) is seeking to arrange a secondary sale for investors in its $57.7 billion Blackstone Property Partners strategy to provide liquidity amid redemption pressure, Bloomberg reported. Blackstone has held discussions with potential buyers and is taking a more formal role in arranging the deals, the report said. Blackstone shares were up 1.6%.