09:00 AM EST, 01/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were higher pre-bell Friday, with The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) up 0.4%.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was 1.2% higher and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was down 1%.

Amerant Bancorp ( AMTB ) shares were up 1.9% after the company said its Amerant Bank unit sold 323 residential mortgage loans to Temple View Capital Funding and TVC Funding VII for $58.9 million in cash.

Apollo Global Management ( APO ) said preliminary Q4 estimates showed pretax alternative net investment income to be about $265 million, representing an estimated 9% annualized return. Apollo shares were up 0.4% in recent Friday premarket activity.

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) is also considering withdrawing from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance after Morgan Stanley (MS), Citi (C), and Bank of America (BAC) withdrew from the United Nations-backed climate coalition this week, The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter. A JPMorgan ( JPM ) spokeswoman told WSJ that the bank regularly assesses its memberships to ensure they align with its business and client interests. JPMorgan ( JPM ) shares were up 0.8% pre-bell Friday.