09:26 AM EDT, 05/12/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing pre-bell Monday, with The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) up 2.7%.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was up 8.2% and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 8.2% lower.

Invesco ( IVZ ) shares were up past 5% even after the company reported preliminary assets under management of $1.840 trillion at the end of April, down from $1.845 trillion at the end of March.

Lazard ( LAZ ) stock was over 2% higher after the company reported preliminary assets under management of $231.41 billion as of April 30, up from $227.43 billion a month earlier.

The Spanish government would back a deal between Sabadell and another Spanish rival as a way to counter the unsolicited bid from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria ( BBVA ) , Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria ( BBVA ) shares were down 0.4% premarket.