Huatai Securities: It is expected that market volatility will create certain pressure on the first-quarter profit performance of insurance companies.

Huatai Securities pointed out that the main source of profit for insurance companies comes from insurance service performance and investment performance, with insurance service performance being relatively stable and investment performance being the main reason for profit fluctuations. In 2025, insurance funds significantly increased their equity positions. In the first quarter of 2026, the stock market experienced significant volatility due to geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 1.94% in the first quarter of 2026, compared to a decrease of only 0.48% in the first quarter of 2025. As equity market volatility increases, insurance companies have noticeably increased their equity positions compared to the same period last year, and it is expected that stock market volatility will create some pressure on insurance companies' profit performance for the quarter.