08:59 AM EDT, 05/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were edging higher pre-bell Friday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advancing by 0.5%.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 1.5% and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 1.3% lower.

Futu ( FUTU ) , UP Fintech's ( TIGR ) Tiger Brokers unit and Longbridge Securities face planned penalties from China's securities regulator for operating in mainland China without licenses, Bloomberg reported. Shares of Futu ( FUTU ) were down more than 36% and UP Fintech ( TIGR ) stock lost over 34% premarket.