Lufax, Futu, 360 Digitech forged higher in a flat week for financial stocks

Three Chinese fintech stocks topped financial gainers this week as the country's authorities softened their zero-COVID stance, while the financial stock that fell the most is a Canadian bank that reported disappointing earnings.

Those stocks stood out while the sector, as a whole, ended the week flat, with the XLF ETF was roughly unchanged.

Lufax Holding (NYSE:LU) stock, surging 40% in the week ended Dec. 2, rose the most, followed by 360 DigiTech (NASDAQ:QFIN), up 29%, and Futu Holdings (NASDAQ:FUTU), up 26%. Chinese tech stocks, in general, climbed during the week as the government indicated it would take a more pragmatic approach to the pandemic.

The top five were rounded out with Chilean bank

Itaú Corpbanca, rising 13%, and classic car insurer Hagerty (NYSE:HGTY), up 12%.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM) stock slid 9.4% during the week after posting weaker-than-expected fiscal Q4 earnings;

Alternative asset manager TPG (NASDAQ:TPG) sank 7.2%,

Paypal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) fell 6.8% during the holiday shopping season;

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) dropped 6.3%; and

Asset manager Blue Owl Capital (NYSE:OWL) dipped 6.1% for the week.

While Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) stock dropped for most of the week after the company had reported large outflows early in Q4, it rebounded late in the week after its chairman said the outflows had substantially stopped. As a result, it ended up being the financial stock with the sixth biggest decline for the week, with a 5.9% fall.

SA contributor Bamboo Works discussed Lufax's (LU) declining Q3 revenue as the company became more selective with borrowers.