09:04 AM EDT, 06/18/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were edging higher pre-bell Thursday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advancing by 0.6%.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 1.7% and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 1.8% lower.

Morgan Stanley ( MS ) stands to benefit from the planned initial public offering of the National Stock Exchange of India, Bloomberg reported. Shares of Morgan Stanley ( MS ) were up more than 1% premarket.