09:19 AM EDT, 04/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were edging higher pre-bell Wednesday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advancing by 2.3%.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was 6.7% higher and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was down 6.8%.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group's ( SMFG ) SMBC Group unit will invest $50.5 million to build its second US headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a statement from Governor Josh Stein's office. Shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ( SMFG ) were up more than 5% premarket.

Better Home & Finance ( BETR ) stock was down more than 19% after the company priced a public offering of about 1.9 million class A common shares for roughly $60 million in expected gross proceeds.

CME Group ( CME ) reported international average daily volume of 11.4 million contracts in Q1, up 30% from a year earlier. CME Group ( CME ) shares were 0.9% lower premarket.