09:00 AM EDT, 04/01/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were edging higher premarket Wednesday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advancing by 0.4%.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was 0.9% higher and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was down 1.2%.

Brookfield Wealth Solutions ( BNT ) shares were up more than 2% after the company said it completed its 2.4 billion British pound ($3.19 billion) purchase of UK retirement services provider Just Group.