09:02 AM EDT, 07/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing pre-bell Wednesday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) 0.3% higher.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 1.2% and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 1.1% lower.

Payments firm Stripe and Advent International have offered to acquire PayPal ( PYPL ) for $60.50 per share in a deal that would value the company at more than $53 billion, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed people familiar with the matter. Shares of PayPal ( PYPL ) were up more than 19% premarket.