08:55 AM EDT, 05/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were steady pre-bell Thursday with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) recently inactive.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was 0.3% higher and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was unchanged.

American International Group ( AIG ) said it has agreed to sell a 20% stake, or 120 million shares, of Corebridge Financial ( CRBG ) to Nippon Life Insurance for $31.47 per share, or a total of $3.80 billion. Corebridge Financial ( CRBG ) was up more than 10% premarket while American International added 0.7%.