RIOT, CLSK, MARA top week’s biggest financial losers amid bitcoin selloff

This past week was bustling with activity, from a slew of soft labor-market data to a barrage of corporate earnings to the Federal Reserve’s July gathering. The action-packed week played a key role in some of the major movements among financial stocks, in particular, as Treasury yields nosedived on the premise that a hard landing now may be a more likely scenario for the U.S. economy.

With the economic outlook waning, it was a rough week for financial stocks (NYSEARCA:XLF), gapping down 3.1%. That’s a bigger decline than the 2.1% dip that the broader S&P 500 endured.

The biggest loser among financial stocks (with market cap exceeding $2B) was led by bitcoin (BTC-USD) miners Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT), CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) and Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA), dropping 23.5%, 21.3% and 20.3%, respectively, for the week ended Aug. 2.

The weakness came as the price of bitcoin logged a notable weekly slump. Also note that Riot and Marathon each delivered wider-than-expected Q2 losses during the week, while CleanSpark posted an increase in July BTC production.

Taking the fourth slot, Blue Owl Capital (NYSE:OWL) slid 17.6% on the back of its Q2 results. From there, shares of the alternative asset manager were upgraded by Oppenheimer following their retreat.

Rounding out the five biggest decliners, Credit Acceptance (NASDAQ:CACC) fell 16.2% after posting better-than-expected Q2 earnings and revenue.

On the positive side, Ryan Specialty Holdings (NYSE:RYAN), which during the week turned in stronger-than-forecast Q2 results, led the way with a 13.1% gain;

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings (NYSE:DNB) jumped 9.3% after a report that the data and analytics provider is considering a sale takeover interest;

Rocket Companies (NYSE:RKT), known for its mortgage lending business, climbed 8.4% after its Q2 profit topped the consensus;

PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) accelerated 6.3% after the payments tech company turned in stronger-than-expected Q2 earnings and revenue, boosted its 2024 earnings guidance, and raised its share repurchase outlook. Argus later upgraded the stock to Buy as its Q2 results demonstrated steady progress in its turnaround efforts.

Lastly, Mastercard (NYSE:MA) gained 5.4% as the payment network’s Q2 results were buoyed by still-strong consumer spending.