--- title: "Sector Update: Financial Stocks Decline Late Afternoon" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/286960022.md" description: "Financial stocks declined in late trading, with the NYSE Financial Index down 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF falling 1.1%. US pending home sales rose 1.4% in April, exceeding expectations. Hanover Insurance shares dropped 2.2% after a downgrade, while Blackstone shares fell 2.3% after exiting a takeover bid. Blackstone is forming a $5 billion joint venture with Google for AI data centers. Lloyds Banking is expanding its US infrastructure financing business. Bitcoin decreased 0.2% to $76,806." datetime: "2026-05-19T19:58:00.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/286960022.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286960022.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/286960022.md) --- # Sector Update: Financial Stocks Decline Late Afternoon 03:58 PM EDT, 05/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were lower in late Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) shedding 1.1%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was up 0.2%. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was decreasing 0.2% to $76,806, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 4.4 basis points to 4.667%. In economic news, US pending home sales increased more than expected last month as home buyers apparently shrugged off mounting economic uncertainty. The forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings increased 1.4% month over month in April, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Analysts expected a 1% gain, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg. In corporate news, Hanover Insurance ( THG ) shares fell 2.2% after BMO downgraded the company's stock to market perform from outperform. Blackstone (BX) shares were down 2.3% after Bloomberg reported Tuesday the company has dropped out of a consortium exploring a takeover of German media group Stroeer. Separately, Blackstone said late Monday it is forming a US-based joint venture with Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google to provide AI-focused data center capacity and cloud computing services. Blackstone said it will invest $5 billion in equity initially for the JV, which plans to bring its first 500 megawatts of capacity online in 2027 and expand further over time. Blue Owl (OWL) Co-Founder Doug Ostrover is selling his stake in the NFL's Washington Commanders back to the Josh Harris-led ownership group, Bloomberg reported. Blue Owl shares fell 1%. Lloyds Banking ( LYG ) is preparing to expand its US infrastructure financing business, including lending tied to the fast-growing data center sector, the Financial Times reported. The UK lender is aiming to build a US infrastructure bank focused on large construction projects and sectors such as green energy, while supporting UK corporate clients with US operations, the report said. Lloyds shares were fractionally lower. MT Newswires does not provide investment advice. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. ### Related Stocks - [VFH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VFH.US.md) - [IAI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IAI.US.md) - [BTCHKD.VAHK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BTCHKD.VAHK.md) - [BTCUSD.VAHK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BTCUSD.VAHK.md) - [XLF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XLF.US.md) - [XLRE.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XLRE.US.md) - [THG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/THG.US.md) - [BMO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BMO.US.md) - [BX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BX.US.md) - [SAX.DE](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SAX.DE.md) - [GOOGL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOGL.US.md) - [OWL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/OWL.US.md) - [LYG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LYG.US.md) - [GOOG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOG.US.md) - [OBDE.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/OBDE.US.md) - [OBDC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/OBDC.US.md) - [OTF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/OTF.US.md) - [LLOY.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LLOY.UK.md) ## Related News & Research - [Kevin Warsh confirmed as Fed chair in narrowest vote since 1977](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286327098.md) - [ROI-G7 long bond stress intensifies: Mike Dolan](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286204081.md) - [Rocket Lab Stock Is Getting a Major Lift. Investors Are Betting on Its Neutron Launch Later This Year.](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286302776.md) - [Karbon-X and Evertrak Sign Letter of Intent to Advance Infrastructure-Linked Plastic Waste Reduction Credit Initiative | KARX Stock News](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286950981.md) - [The Miner That Tripled Its AI Cloud Run-Rate in 60 Days](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286505039.md)