🏦 XLF Dips as Fed Holds Rates and Financial Stocks Slide; HSBC Falls After Profit Drops and Revenue Misses Estimates | Financials Sector Insight
Financials edged lower with XLF down 0.5%, tracking the Dow’s 0.53% decline. Despite strong Q2 GDP growth (3%) and July job gains, the Fed kept rates steady at 4.25%–4.50%. Visa, Mastercard, and Blackstone all fell, even as Visa announced new Google Pay integrations.
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Wednesday, July 30
XLF [-0.5%]
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund
The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) has experienced a decline of 0.5% since Tuesday. In macroeconomic news, the U.S. economy demonstrated notable growth in the second quarter of 2025, with GDP expanding at an annualized rate of 3%. Additionally, private sector employment rose by 104,000 jobs in July, reflecting ongoing strength in the labor market. Among the ETF's holdings, significant contributors to its performance included Visa Inc., Mastercard, Wells Fargo, American Express, and Blackstone, all of which saw declines in their share prices. Visa announced an integration of Google Pay tokenization for fleet cards despite a drop in shares following a positive earnings report. The Federal Reserve maintained its federal funds rate at 4.25%–4.50%, with inflation rising to 2.7% in June. Concurrently, the Dow Jones Index declined by 0.53%, aligning with the movement of XLF.