StockWatch: SiriusPoint shares fall 10%
Scor sinks 6% as European insurance stocks underperform
Shares in SiriusPoint tanked 10.1% in the week to April 6, as insurance stocks underperformed in the global equity markets.
SiriusPoint this week had its A- financial strength and credit ratings affirmed by AM Best and announced a raft of senior hires to expand its life business. However, the firm’s share price was worth 34.6% less on Wednesday evening than 12 months earlier.
AM Best described the group’s balance sheet as very strong but its operating performance as only adequate. SiriusPoint’s share price has fallen 16.9% in 2022 so far.
Only a handful of Insurance Day's selected stocks gained value this week, with European groups continuing to feel the effects of uncertainties over Ukraine, energy supplies and inflation.
Insurance Day's European sub-group fell 2.8% with all 10 groups losing value as insurance stocks underperformed the Stoxx Europe 600 (-0.9%).
The biggest loser was Scor, which sank 6.4% and slipped into negative territory for 2022.
It was an otherwise quiet week for Insurance Day's selected insurance stocks, which declined in value by 1.8% on average.
Performance was mixed among the Lloyd’s players. Lancashire Holdings (+2.0%) gained for the fourth consecutive week but closed Wednesday down 18.7% for the year-to-date and 34.8% over 12 months.
Meanwhile, while Beazley (-3.8%) set its sights on growth this week with the announcement of four new interconnected underwriting divisions, its share price headed the other way.
Hiscox was flat for the week, but at +13.8% for the year-to-date was on Wednesday the best performing stock of the year so far on this side of the Atlantic.