Financial stocks were edging higher pre-bell Wednesday with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) recently advancing by 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 0.2%.

Morgan Stanley (MS) plans to lay off about 2,000 employees, or 2% to 3% of its workforce, later this month, multiple news outlets reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Morgan Stanley shares were up 0.1% pre-bell Wednesday.

A consortium consisting of BlackRock (BLK), Allianz, and T&D Holdings will acquire Viridium Group from Cinven for 3.5 billion euros ($3.82 billion), Allianz said Wednesday in a news release. BlackRock shares rose 0.3%.

Walker & Dunlop (WD) arranged a $253 million construction loan for the development of the Pendry Nashville and Pendry Residences Nashville, a 30-story hotel condominium tower in Nashville, Tennessee. The company's shares rose 0.8%.