Insurance shares soar following COVID-19 vaccine news

Insurance shares surged following Pfizer's announcement that it had developed, together with German biotech firm BioNTech, a COVID-19 vaccine that was more than 90% successful based on trials.

Aviva’s share price rose by nearly 8%, while Allianz’s and AXA’s rose by over 10% respectively. Berkshire Hathaway share price saw an increase of 7%. SCOR shares hit 17%, while AIG shares climbed 13%.

The announcement boosted investor appetite for sectors hardest hit by the pandemic including airlines, hotels and energy firms, sending shares soaring in some cases by more than 40%. Investor sentiment had already been buoyed by the Biden victory, which saw global stock markets rallying to positive levels. Market watchers however cautioned that the optimism over the vaccine news could fade.  

Source: Asia Insurance Review