The financial stock that gained the most this week benefitted from a robust rally in cryptocurrencies, while the one that slid the most reflected disappointing first-quarter results. Overall, financial stocks rose markedly for the week ended April 14. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF ( XLF ) climbed 2.9% , as investors cheered the handful of megabanks that kicked off Q1 earnings season, and stresses in the banking system continued to ease. By comparison, the broader S&P 500 Index ( SPX ) edged up 0.8% . Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) miner Riot Platforms ( NASDAQ: RIOT ) topped the best-performing financial stocks (with a market cap over $2B), soaring 47.2% , as the crypto turned in a strong weekly gain ; Brazil-based financial services company XP Inc. ( NASDAQ: XP ) jumped 28.1% ; Argentina's Banco Macro S.A. ( NYSE: BMA ) drove up 16.7% ; Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. ( NASDAQ: GGAL ), another Argentinean bank, advanced 16.4% ; and Genworth Financial ( NYSE: GNW ), a life and health insurer, perked up 13.9% . For the five biggest losers, Progressive ( NYSE: PGR ) fell the most, down 7.8% , after the P&C insurer's Q1 earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations on a higher combined ratio; Eastern Bankshares ( NASDAQ: EBC ) retreated 7.1% ; Kemper Corp. ( NYSE: KMPR ), another P&C insurer, dipped 6.8% ; First Republic Bank ( NYSE: FRC ) dropped 6.5% after the regional lender suspended payment of its quarterly cash dividend on seven series of its preferred shares; and Glacier Bancorp ( NYSE: GBCI ) slipped 6.4% . Seeking Alpha contributor IncomeBent Investments views RIOT with a Hold rating as the miner has been able to "maintain somewhat stable" bitcoin production despite grappling with a number of challenges.
