Friday's Financial Winners & Losers

San Francisco broker Thomas Weisel Partners (TWPG) reported dwindling non-GAAP third-quarter earnings of a penny a share, or 9 cents shy of expectations, and Nationwide Financial Services (NFS) was two cents under with an operating profit of $1.09 a share.

Thomas Wiesel was down $2.37, or 16.4%, to $12.05. Nationwide Financial slumped 4.9% to $50.00.

The NYSE Financial Sector Index, which tracks all but one of the above stocks, was losing about 98.95 points, or 1.1%, to 8,931.81.

But one of the sector's biggest price gainers was Georgia's GB&T Bancshares (GBTB), which leapt 20.8% after agreeing to a stock-swap merger with SunTrust Banks (STI) worth roughly $153.7 million. That pans out at about $10.80 per GB&T share, as of SunTrust's closing price Thursday. The deal should close in the second quarter of next year.

GB&T was rising $1.83 to $10.63. SunTrust slipped 92 cents, or 1.3%, to $68.21.

Also gaining ground was New York brokerage GFI Group (GFIG), which said third-quarter income shot up 53.1% from last year. Excluding items, the company posted a profit of $27.6 million, or 92 cents a share, on surging revenue of $254.7 million. Analysts were looking for just 86 cents a share on a top line of $249.1 million. Shares tacked on 10.27% to $90.60.

Elsewhere, online health insurance agency eHealth (EHTH) upped its 2007 top- and bottom-line guidance to above-par ranges and beat third-quarter expectations, spurring shares 15.8% higher. And Investools (SWIM), which offers online brokerage and investor-education services, swung to a quarterly profit of $13 million, or 19 cents a share, from a year-ago loss. That smashes analysts' dime-a-share targets. Shares climbed 5.9% to $15.05.

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