09:24 AM EDT, 05/14/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks leaned higher pre-bell Wednesday with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) 0.1% up recently.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was up 0.3% and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was flat.

FirstCash ( FCFS ) shares were over 2% higher after the company said it has agreed on terms to acquire H&T Group, a pawnshop operator in the UK, for 297 million British pounds ($394 million).

Nu (NU) shares were down more than 3% after the company reported higher Q1 earnings that missed expectations.

DeFi Technologies ( DEFT ) shares advanced by over 4% after the company reported that it swung to Q1 earnings as revenue increased during the period.