Financial stocks advanced in Tuesday afternoon trading with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) gaining 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index climbed 1.8%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) added 1.1%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 0.4% to $85,727, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries fell 3 basis points to 5.28%.

In economic news, the US international trade deficit widened to $105.57 billion in August from a $92.83 billion gap in July, compared with a $102.1 billion shortfall expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Redbook US same-store sales last week rose 8.6% from a year earlier after an 8.2% increase in the previous week.

In corporate news, Ares Management (ARES) will recover only about 50% of the money it invested in TalkTalk after BT Group agreed to buy the telecommunications firm out of insolvency, Bloomberg reported. Ares shares rose 0.7%.

HSBC Holdings (HSBC) and other UK banks met with UK Chancellor John Healey, who said he is facing a "challenging" fiscal picture, while not indicating whether higher taxes would be imposed on banks, the Financial Times reported. HSBC shares gained 1.3%.

Apollo Global Management (APO) is leaning toward using aircraft financing for the 3.5 billion-British pound ($4.64 billion) debt package that will fund its purchase of EasyJet, instead of high-yield bonds, Bloomberg reported. Apollo shares advanced 0.4%.