Sector Update: Financial Stocks Advance Pre-Bell Monday

09:24 AM EDT, 08/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing pre-bell Monday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.1%. The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was 0.2% higher and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was down 0.3%. Aegon (AEG) shares were up more than 1% after the company said it has increased its H2 share buyback program by 150 million euros ($174.9 million) to 350 million euros, effective Monday. Paysafe (PSFE) stock was up more than 1% after the company said it launched a video gaming platform designed to connect players, developers, and publishers through game discovery, rewards and community features. Citigroup (C) has partnered with Axis Bank to finance non-resident Indians investing in foreign-currency deposits with the Indian lender, Bloomberg News reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Citigroup shares were marginally higher premarket.