GNS - Financial stocks edge down in week Burford leads gainers Western Alliance drops

2023-04-08 10:10:40 ET

In the four-day trading week, the financial stock that gained the most recently saw progress in collecting on a legal case, and the one that fell the most is caught up in the banking stresses that emerged last month.

For the trading week ended April 6, financial stocks overall slipped slightly with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF ( XLF ) edging down 0.5% , while the broader S&P 500 Index ( SPX ) nudged down 0.1%.

Burford Capital ( NYSE: BUR ) Topped the financial stocks (with a market cap over $2B) that climbed the most during the week, with an 11% gain . In the previous week, one of its clients won a liablity ruling against the Argentinian government in its lawsuit over the expropriation of YPF, a state-controlled energy company.

That's followed by insurer Genworth Financial ( NYSE: GNW ), +7.4% ;

Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria ( NYSE: BBVA ), +6.0% ;

Italian bank UniCredit ( OTCPK:UNCRY ) gained 5.8% in the week it started the first tranche of is share buyback program for up to EUR 2.34B (US$2.53B); and

British bank Barclays ( NYSE: BCS ) advanced 5.0% , topping off the five-biggest financial climbers.

Of the five biggest decliners, Western Alliance Bancorporation ( NYSE: WAL ) shares dropped 13% in the week it provided when the bank's quarter-end financial update gave mixed signals to Wall Street;

MarketAxess Holdings ( NASDAQ: MKTX ), the electronic trading platform, slid 12% after posting its March volume figures . "Market volumes were dampened by challenges in the banking sector, with U.S. corporate credit ADV dropping 10% intra-month during the crisis period," CEO Chris Concannon said.

Coinbase ( NASDAQ: COIN ), the crypto exchange platform, sank 9.1% , after its Q1 transactions roughly stalled at Q4 levels.

Brazil-based financial services company XP Inc. ( NASDAQ: XP ) fell 8.8% ; and

Valley National Bancorp ( NASDAQ: VLY ), a New York-based regional bank, receded 8.6% during the week.

On Thursday, banks' borrowing from the Federal Reserve declined slightly during the week.

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