Credicorp posts biggest weekly gain among financial stocks, while insurers fall

Stocks within the financials sector climbed this past week as the Federal Reserve directly acknowledged its progress on taming inflation by signaling it is done raising rates, in a dovish tilt that further drove down U.S. Treasury yields.

With markets firmly in the camp that rate cuts could come as soon as March 2024, the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLF) jumped 3.4% for the week ended Dec. 15, outpacing the S&P 500’s 2.5% ascent.

Credicorp (NYSE:BAP), a Peru-based bank, rose the most of any financial stock (with market cap $2B+) this week, surging 20.6%;

Upstart Holdings (NASDAQ:UPST), the AI-driven lending platform, shot up 20.6%;

Asset manager Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS), which during the week posted a 9% M/M jump in AUM, gained 16.5%;

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) accelerated 16% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the bank and auto lender to Equal-Weight from Underweight; and

Industrial conglomerate Brookfield Business Corp. (NYSE:BBUC) advanced 15.5%.

For top five biggest losers, insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher (NYSE:AJG) took the lead, falling 7.5%;

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) also slid 7.5%;

Property and casualty insurer Arch Capital Group (NASDAQ:ACGL) drifted down 7.4%;

Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) retreated 7.2%; and

LPL Financial Holdings (NASDAQ:LPLA), a provider of brokerage and investment advisory services, dipped 6.4%.