Stockwatch: Insurance stocks climb 1.9% in buoyant week for equities
Majority of insurance stocks gain value over the seven days to October 11, with Fairfax Financial and SiriusPoint among the handful to see their share price fall
Aviva shares lifted by takeover speculation, with RenRe and Swiss Re stocks also performing well
Insurance Day’s selected insurance stocks climbed 1.9% on average in a positive week overall for equities.
European stocks gained the most ground, rising 3.1%, followed by listed Lloyd’s stocks, which rose 2.2% – both were ahead of benchmark indices.
Bermudians and other North American stocks were both up around 1%, although they lagged the S&P 500, which was up 2.7% for the week. Broker stocks were up 0.9%.
Aviva and Swiss Re were this week’s top performers. Shares in Aviva were up 5.7% amid speculation it could be a takeover target, while Swiss Re shares climbed 5.8%.
Bermudian RenaissanceRe’s stock also performed well this week, rising 5.3%. Shares in the reinsurer, which is in the process of buying Validus Re from AIG, are up more than 60% over the past 12 months.
Few insurance stocks lost value this week.
Shares in Canadian holding company Fairfax fell 1.5%, while Bermudian SiriusPoint’s stock was down 4.4%.
SiriusPoint shares are down 11.6% from their 12-month high but are still comfortably the year’s top performer at +70.0%.
Fairfax is up 42% for since the start of the year.
