09:23 AM EDT, 05/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing pre-bell Friday as the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF ) was up 0.3% recently.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was 1.1% higher and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was down 0.7%.

KKR (KKR) is set to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval to acquire Telecom Italia's fixed-line network in a 22-billion-euro ($23.85 billion) deal once it agrees to maintain existing commercial contracts with Telecom Italia competitors, Reuters reported, citing unnamed people with direct knowledge of the matter. KKR was up 0.9% premarket.

Citigroup ( C ) has ordered around 600 employees in the US who were able to work remotely to return to the office full-time, Bloomberg reported, citing a company statement. Citigroup ( C ) was 0.2% higher premarket.

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) became the first Wall Street bank to get a license from Saudi Arabia to establish its regional headquarters in Riyadh, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. GS shares were up 0.3% premarket.