Stockwatch: Resurgent Scor starts 2023 with a bang
Scor's strong finish to 2022 came on the back of a well-received plan to improve its performance in 2023
Embattled French reinsurer extends three-month rally with New Year surge
This year has continued where 2022 left off for Scor, as the shares in the resurgent French reinsurer leapt 11.7% in the first few trading days of January.
The rise comes on the back of a strong finish to 2022 as Scor publicised a well-received plan to improve its performance this year. Scor rose every week and gained 71.6% between October 12 and January 4.
However, so woeful was the preceding period of board room disputes and losses for the French giant that Scor’s stock price is still down 15.6% compared to this time last year.
Insurance Day's selected insurance stocks performed strongly over the festive period, rising 3.2% on average. By comparison, the S&P 500 fell 3.6%, the Stoxx Europe slipped 0.5% and the FTSE 100 gained just 1.2%.
Lloyd’s insurers had a particularly strong period – rising 6.7% on average. Lancashire Holdings (+7.9%) gained the most value, although Beazley (+6.9%) was the top performing Lloyd’s stock in 2022, having risen 44.7% in the 12 months to Wednesday’s close.
The Lloyd’s stocks all gained more than 20% in 2022, and with an average 12-month gain of 29.4% have been the standout sub-group of the past year.
German giants Munich Re (+4.8%) and Talanx (+4.4%) both saw significant rises over the festive period.
Meanwhile, Greenlight Capital was the biggest gainer on the US exchanges, rising 12.8% between December 15 and January 4, although this stock is often more volatile due to its relatively small market capitalisation.
