Financial Stocks Slip, But Argentine Banks Shine
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Financial stocks experienced a modest dip in the past week, particularly on Friday, which was mitigated by Argentine banks showing strength yet again.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLF) saw a decline of 2.2% over the last five sessions, a figure lower than the overall market slump, with the S&P 500 witnessing a 3.2% decrease during the same period amidst concerns about economic growth post a sluggish August jobs report.
Investor sentiment turned notably risk-averse, leading to downward pressure on cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) saw a substantial drop of approximately 9.6% since August 29, plummeting to $53.5K by late September 6, marking its lowest value since August 5. Consequently, the top three decliners of the week were dominated by crypto assets.
Contrastingly, the standout performers in the financial sector for the second consecutive week were the Argentine banks.
Crypto Names in Red, Argentine Banks in Green
CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) recorded the most significant decline, tumbling by 25%. The bitcoin mining company attributed this fall to mining 478 bitcoins in August, a decrease from the 494 mined in July, a trend also observed across the majority of miners who reported lower production levels in August.
Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) witnessed a steep decline of 22%, following the announcement by its CFO that policy spending would remain high until after the U.S. presidential election.
Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) saw a 16% slide during the same week it shared producing 3% fewer bitcoins in August compared to July.
Upstart Holdings (NASDAQ:UPST), known for its AI-powered lending platform for financial institutions, experienced a 20% drop in its stock value.
Fintech bank SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) faced a 13% decline, contributing to the mixed performance of the financial sector.
Conversely, Argentine banks Banco Macro (NYSE:BMA), Banco BBVA Argentina (NYSE:BBAR), and Grupo Financiero Galicia (NASDAQ:GGAL) showcased robust growth, with increments of 11%, 10%, and 9.0% respectively. This surge was underpinned by an optimistic loan growth outlook in Argentina, a sentiment reinforced by J.P. Morgan’s recent upgrades to all three institutions.
Business development company Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) closed the week positively with a 5.6% gain, while Better Home & Finance (NASDAQ:BETR) managed to rebound by 5.5%, recouping some of its losses from the previous week.