The financial sector rose on Thursday, climbing alongside a rise in bond yields and bucking the overall negative tone of the day in the U.S. stock market. The sector XLF, +0.68% gained 1.1% and was the only one of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors to be in positive territory in early action. The rise came as the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note climbed 2.4 basis points to 3.18%, extending its climb to the highest yield since 2011. Historically, bank stocks tend to outperform in periods of...

The S&P Financial sector tumbled on Friday, following a trio of major bank earnings that showed some signs of weakness. The sector fell 1.2%, by far the biggest percentage decliner of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors. The declines came as bank earnings started the second-quarter reporting season on something of a sour note. JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, -0.46% fell 1.4% after it reported results that came in above expectations, though its consumer and community banking division was a weak spot....

Exchange-traded funds that track the financial and banking sectors turned lower in early Friday trading, after a trio of major firms reported their results. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF XLF, -1.51% fell 0.1% while the SPDR S&P Bank ETF KBE, -1.58% was down 0.3%. JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell 0.6%. The Dow component reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates. Citigroup Inc. C, -1.55% also reported better-than-expected earnings, but shares fell 0.6%. Wells...

Eight days. That’s how long it took bitcoin BTCUSD, +2.99% back in April 2013, to rise from $100 for a single bitcoin to $200. Fast forward four years and the cryptocurrency has reached an all-time high of $4,791.75 and has been scaling $100 milestones in a matter of hours on a routine basis. On Tuesday morning, the price of a single bitcoin was around $4,400; by Tuesday afternoon it had shot up to briefly top $4,700 for the first time. While these milestones have become lesser and lesser...