Financial stocks advancing in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index and the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF) both rising 1.5%.
The Philadelphia Housing Index was advancing 1.5% and the SPDR Real Estate Select Sector ETF (XLRE) was gaining 2.2%.
In company news, Royal Bank of Canada (RY) was back on positive ground Wednesday afternoon, rising 1% in late trade and reversing a midday 1.3% decline, after reporting Q4 net income of 2.74 Canadian dollars ($2.04), improving on CA$2.68 last year and beating the Capital IQ consensus for the three months ended Oct. 31 by CA$0.05 per share.