Financial stocks were mixed in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index up 0.1% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) fractionally lower.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.1%, and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) was down 0.4%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 1.5% to $85,833, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was dropping 3.8 basis points to 4.26%.

In economic news, US new home sales fell to a 657,000 annual rate in January from an upwardly revised 734,000 rate in December, below the 680,000 rate expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Mortgage applications fell by 1.2% in the week ended Feb. 21 as a more pessimistic view of the economy more than offset a drop in mortgage rates, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday.

In corporate news, SiriusPoint (SPNT) shares were adding 0.4%, a day after the company priced a secondary stock offering and announced an equity repurchase.

Lemonade (LMND) shares dropped 3.3% after it issued Q1 and 2025 revenue outlook below analysts' expectations.

NatWest (NWG) is working on a significant risk transfer tied to a portfolio of leveraged loans totaling almost 1 billion British pounds ($1.3 billion), Bloomberg reported. NatWest shares rose 2%.