01:57 PM EDT, 04/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks slumped in Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index dropping 3.7% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) retreating 3.8%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 4.7%, and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) was down 2.6%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was declining 5.2% to $81,935.97, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was dropping 15.3 basis points to 4.04%.

In sector news, US equity indexes plunged amid concerns that the Trump administration's tariff hike will spark a global trade war and slash economic growth.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management's US services index fell to 50.8 in March from 53.5 in February, compared with expectations for 52.9 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

In corporate news, Capital One Financial's ( COF ) planned acquisition of Discover Financial Services ( DFS ) received the Justice Department's go-ahead after the agency told regulators it did not see any concerns that warranted blocking the deal, The New York Times reported. Capital One shares dropped 8.6% and Discover was down 7%.

Manulife Financial ( MFC ) shares were falling 4.2%. The company said Thursday its shareholders should be cautious about an unsolicited mini-tender offer from New York Stock and Bond LLC seeking to buy up to 250,000 Manulife shares.

TowneBank ( TOWN ) has agreed to buy Old Point Financial ( OPOF ) for about $203 million, the companies said. Old Point shares surged past 21%, while TowneBank ( TOWN ) fell 8.7%.