Fintechs surge as rate-hike worries ease in upbeat market

Happen

02/02/2023 16:25

** Shares of financial technology and consumer-facing buy
now, pay later firms rally as market worries over aggressive
upcoming rate hikes ease 
    ** Fintechs Affirm Holdings  AFRM.O , Upstart Holdings
 UPST.O , SoFi Technologies  SOFI.O  and LendingClub Corp  LC.N 
jump between ~9% and ~25% 
    ** Block Inc  SQ.N  advances 6.3%, PayPal Holdings Inc
 PYPL.O  adds 5.5% 
    ** Wall Street breathes easier after a more
dovish-than-expected message from Fed Chair Jerome Powell boosts
hopes of slowing rate hikes and so-called economic soft landing 
    ** Profitability at most of these companies is closely tied
with consumer strength, which comes under pressure amid an
economic downturn 
    ** Major card firms American Express  AXP.N , Visa Inc  V.N 
and Mastercard Inc  MA.N  also tick up between 0.3% and 0.8% on
Thursday
    ** Meanwhile, Nasdaq rose more than 2% on Thursday to hit a
near five-month intra-day high  .N 
 (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru)
 ((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com))