Big banks, IREN in gainers; Pershing Square, Futu among losers: week's financials wrap

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Wall Street ended the week higher as markets spent much of the week reacting to developments around U.S.-Iran negotiations and the outlook for oil prices. Early in the week, concerns about an inflationary shock tied to the Middle East conflict pushed Treasury yields higher and pressured equities.

Sentiment improved midweek as optimism grew around a possible temporary ceasefire framework between Washington and Tehran. AI chip giant Nvidia reported results and guidance above expectations, signaling the sector's massive rally can continue.

Markets also adjusted to the arrival of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chairman on Friday. Treasury yields fluctuated as investors considered whether the Fed may need to keep policy tighter amid lingering inflation concerns.

Financials was the sixth largest gainer among the 11 S&P 500 sectors for the week. State Street Financial Sel Sec SPDR ETF (XLF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XLF]) added 1.64% during the week to close at $51.94.

Banking stocks outperformed the broader markets, while AI-linked stocks pushed markets to fresh highs.

Among megacap stocks, Goldman Sachs Group (GS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GS]) led the weekly gainers, advancing 5.09% week-over-week to $996.73.

The stock benefited as SpaceX is said to have picked [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4595110-spacex-ipo-goldman-sachs-reportedly-chosen-to-lead-record-breaking-offering] Goldman Sachs to lead what's likely to be a record offering. Morgan Stanley (MS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MS]) is also listed as a lead bank.

MS was the second-biggest gainer for the week, adding 4.43% to $201.03.

Additionally, the week saw OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed creator of ChatGPT, work with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on a draft IPO.

Furthermore, regulatory actions made headlines in the banking sector this week.

The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are reportedly delaying [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4595067-regulators-delay-cyber-tests-for-banks-to-give-time-to-strengthen-systems-against-ai-threat---report] certain cyber test schedules of the largest banks to allow the firms more time to strengthen their systems against cyber threats related to Anthropic PBC's new Mythos AI model.

Separately, banking regulators are expected to introduce [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4594632-us-regulators-set-to-revamp-camels-ratings-process-for-banks-report] a plan that would reshape how they rate banks, a process that determines how closely bank examiners scrutinize a financial institution.

HSBC Holdings (HSBC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HSBC]) (+4.12% W/W to $92.02), Bank of America (BAC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BAC]) (+4.08% W/W to $51.80), and Wells Fargo (WFC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WFC]) (+4.06% W/W to $76.40) followed in the list.

Another notable event recorded during the week is that resolution plans, also known as living wills, submitted by big banks, including Bank of America (BAC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BAC]) and Wells Fargo (WFC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WFC]), in July 2025 do not have any "shortcomings or deficiencies," the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC said [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4596448-jp-morgan-bank-of-america-and-citi-living-wills-cleared-by-fed-fdic].

May has been one of the worst months for banks in the past 16 years, S&P Global Market Intelligence said in a recent report [https://www.capitaliq.spglobal.com/apisv3/spg-webplatform-core/news/article?id=102001560&KeyProductLinkType=14&utm_campaign=top_news_1&utm_medium=top_news&utm_source=news_home], citing a research note from Truist Securities analysts. Bank stocks' outperformance is a welcome sign for the financial sector.

"Despite decent fundamentals, bank stocks have been sitting out of the market euphoria of late," Truist analysts reportedly said.

American Express (AXP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AXP]) was the only megacap decliner for the week, retreating 0.54% week-over-week to $311.78. Consumer sentiment was said to have slid [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4596258-consumer-sentiment-revised-lower-in-may-continuing-decline-from-april] to a record trough in May, impacting the credit card company.

Among largecap stocks, IREN (IREN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IREN]) (+7.35% W/W to $56.83) and Mizuho Financial Group (MFG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MFG]) (+7.25% W/W to $9.32) led the winners.

Shares of neocloud companies, including IREN, were surging after Nvidia disclosed [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4595913-nebius-coreweave-iren-surge-as-nvidia-discloses-h100-rental-prices-continue-to-rise] that rental prices for its H100 GPUs are still rising. Mizuho extended gains from the prior week, when the company reported [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4593741-mizuho-financial-gaap-eps-of-50292-revenue-of-908544b-gives-fy27-outlook] positive full-year financial results.

TransUnion (TRU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TRU]) (+6.64% W/W to $70.66) and Blue Owl Capital (OWL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/OWL]) (+6.34% W/W to $10.06) were the other significant winners.

Meanwhile, Pershing Square (PS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PS]) was the biggest loser in the category, retreating 13.36% to $35.67.

Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IBKR]) (-6.49% W/W to $81.35) and Carlyle Group (CG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CG]) (-5.39% W/W to $45.43) followed. The week saw Carlyle team up [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4595253-alliancebernstein-brookfield-carlyle-team-up-for-private-market-options-for-retirement-accounts] with AllianceBernstein (AB [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AB]) and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BAM]) to offer private market investments to retirement savers.

For the midcap stocks, Futu Holdings (FUTU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FUTU]) led the losers, declining 33.33% to $89.76. The stock plunged after the digitalized financial services provider announced [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4596301-futu-stock-plunges-on-investigation-penalty-related-letter-from-chinas-regulator] receipt of an investigation and administrative penalty pre-notification letter from China's regulator.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission and its Shenzhen bureau stated in the letter that certain of the company's entities in mainland China and Hong Kong conducted securities business, public fund sales business, and futures business in the mainland without obtaining requisite licenses or approval.

Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FIGR]) was the second biggest loser in the category, down 21.56% from the prior week to close at $33.95.

For the gainers, CleanSpark (CLSK [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CLSK]) was a notable name, having added 21.82% to close at $15.97.

UP Fintech (TIGR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TIGR]) was a major decliner among smallcap stocks. The stock sank 29.22% to $4.36 for the week. The Chinese fintech known for its Tiger Trade platform said China's securities regulator has started [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4596356-up-fintech-stock-loses-23-after-chinese-investigation-notice-penalties] an investigation into its unlicensed cross-border securities trading.

BitGo (BTGO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BTGO]) followed with a 22.05% decline to $6.93. The week saw Michael Novogratz, the crypto enthusiast who founded Galaxy Digital (GLXY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GLXY]), appear in court to contest [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4596052-galaxy-founder-novogratz-fights-100m-fee-on-failed-bitgo-deal-report] BitGo CEO Mike Belshe's claim that Galaxy owes BitGo at least $100M for pulling out of a $1.2B transaction.

HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HIVE]) (+51.30% W/W to $4.07) led the smallcap gainers. The company said [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4594253-hives-buzz-hpc-to-build-320-mw-ai-infrastructure-project-in-ontario] its subsidiary BUZZ High Performance Computing is advancing a C$3.5B AI infrastructure project in Ontario.

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