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This week’s gainers among financial stocks were led by Argentine lenders, while a Chinese personal financial platform topped the decliners.
Overall, financial stocks (with market cap over $2B) closed out the week ended August 25 slightly in the green, with the Financial Select SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLF) up 0.03%, trailing the S&P 500’s 0.82% ascent.
Banco BBVA Argentina S.A. (NYSE:BBAR) notched the biggest gains of financial stocks, jumping 12%, after posting strong sequential growth for the second quarter;
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (NASDAQ:GGAL), another Argentine bank, climbed 10%;
Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FRHC), a Kazakhstan-based investment bank and brokerage, advanced 9.6%;
Argentina’s Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA) perked up 9.5% after delivering robust headline results for Q2; and
Banco Itau Chile (NYSE:ITCL) rounded out the biggest winners with a 6.9% gain.
For the losers, Lufax Holdings (NYSE:LU) topped the list, dropping 10%, after turning in Q2 total income that fell short of expectations given lower loan production;
Regional bank WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS), which down named an interim finance chief, fell 7.9%;
Upstart Holdings (NASDAQ:UPST), which offers a loan platform for banks, slid 6.9%;
Alabama-based ServisFirst Banchsares (NYSE:SFBS) retreated 6.2%, taking its year-to-date losses to 20.8%; and
First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) dipped 5.7%.
