Sector Update: Financial Stocks Advance Premarket Thursday

09:24 AM EDT, 09/03/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing premarket Thursday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) 0.5% higher. The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 1.4% and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 1.4% lower. Equity Bancshares (EQBK) has agreed to acquire Lincoln Bancorp in a deal valued at approximately $123.8 million, the companies said. Equity Bancshares stock was up 0.8% pre-bell. PayPal (PYPL) has laid off around 600 employees across its India operations as part of a global restructuring and cost-cutting drive, MoneyControl reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Shares of PayPal were 0.5% higher premarket. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said its New York Stock Exchange subsidiary and Korea Exchange signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on expanding access to global capital markets. Intercontinental Exchange shares were up 0.7% pre-bell.