HK Stock Market Move | Non-life insurance stocks continued their recent decline, with major insurers not disclosing annual performance results. Institutions suggest that the market may revise down first-quarter profit forecasts.

Domestic insurance stocks continue to decline in the near term. As of the time of writing, PICC P&C (02328) fell by 3.36% to HK$15.25; China Pacific Insurance (02601) fell by 3.3% to HK$32.86; China Life Insurance (02628) fell by 2.57% to HK$28.06. Zhongtai pointed out that insurance stocks have been under pressure recently. This is mainly due to the accumulated gains in the sector since December 2025 and increased geopolitical risks leading to market volatility. China Life and New China Life, whose net profit growth in the first three quarters of 2025 exceeded 50%, have not announced an increase in annual performance by the end of January 2026. It is anticipated that the impact of the volatile equity market in the fourth quarter of 2025 will lead to a possible downward adjustment in the first-quarter 2026 net profits of listed insurance companies, weakening market confidence in the valuation of insurance stocks in both Hong Kong and Mainland China. JP Morgan released a research report stating that domestic insurance stocks have lagged behind the broader market since the Spring Festival, as major insurance companies have not announced positive profit forecasts. The bank mentioned that unless the annual net profit changes by more than 50%, insurance companies are not required to issue profit forecasts. Therefore, the lack of positive profit forecasts is not seen as a risk to earnings for this quarter. It is noteworthy that the market consensus for the net profit forecast for the 2026 fiscal year already indicates a 9% year-on-year decrease. As a result, JP Morgan believes that the current risk of further downward revision in market consensus is limited.