LU - Lufax stock leads financial gainers for the week while Virtu slides the most

Three fintech stocks led the financial stocks that gained the most this week, while a trading/market-making stock fell the most in the financial sector in a week in which the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF ( NYSEARCA: XLF ) increased 2.1%. .

For the second week of the year, investors appeared willing to take on more risk. In the broader market, the S&P 500 rose 2.7% for the week ended Jan. 13.

Leading the rising stocks was Chinese fintech Lufax Holdings ( NYSE: LU ), climbing 27% . Still, the stock is down 48% from a year ago as investors avoided tech stocks for most of 2022 and the threat of Chinese-based stocks being delisted hung over it.

The next biggest gain was from Futu Holdings ( NASDAQ: FUTU ), another Chinese fintech, which rose 20% , followed by

SoFi Holdings ( NASDAQ: SOFI ), the U.S. fintech bank known for helping borrowers refinance student loans, increased 18% . In related news, the Biden administration proposed regulations that would cut the cost of federal student loan payments for many low- and middle-income borrowers.

Grupo Financiero Galicia ( NASDAQ: GGAL ), an Argentinean bank, rose 17% in the week; and

Blue Owl Capital ( NYSE: OWL ), an asset manager, gained 16% in the week that it closed its GP Capital Solutions Fund V at $12.9B.

For the five biggest decliners, Virtu Financial ( NASDAQ: VIRT ), which provides market making and execution services for securities trading slid 5.1% ;

First Financial Bancorp ( NASDAQ: FFBC ), a Cincinnati, Ohio-based bank, dropped 3.3% ;

Three insurers follow: Insurer Hartford Financial Services ( NYSE: HIG ) stock fell 2.8% in a week in which Evercore upgraded the stock, but Goldman downgraded it ;

CFO Financial ( NYSE: CNO ) dipped 2.8% ; and

Old Republic International ( NYSE: ORI ) slipped 2.6% .

Last month, Virtu ( VIRT ) shares came under pressure as the SEC laid out proposals to revamp retail stock trading.

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