By Carlos Pallordet

April 3 - (The Insurer) - Despite a number of outliers that showed significant falls, particularly among smaller-cap carriers and insurtechs, P&C (re)insurers are generally outperforming with broker stocks holding up well compared to the broader stock market reaction to reciprocal tariff announcements.

Wall Street tumbled at the opening bell this morning, continuing a global selloff that began with steep declines across Asian exchanges and extended into European trading sessions, where indices remain in negative territory.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index fell by 3.3%, affected by U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of a 24% tariff on Japanese imports; Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped by 1.9%; while Vietnam's stock market plummeted by 6.7%.

European markets were also down across the board on Thursday afternoon, with the FTSE 100 1.4% lower, Germany’s DAX index decreasing 2.5% and France’s CAC 40 losing 3.3%.

In the U.S., the S&P 500 was trading 3.9% lower soon after market open, while the Nasdaq composite was down by 4.8%, reflecting the continued global market volatility caused by yesterday’s “Liberation Day” announcement.

P&C (re)insurance carrier stocks were not immune from the sell-off, although sector indices tended to perform better than the broader benchmarks for individual regional territories, appearing to confirm the view that insurance stocks can act as a safe-haven amid market volatility.

The U.S. S&P 500 Property & Casualty insurance index was up slightly while, in Europe, the sector-specific Stoxx 600 insurance, which is not limited to P&C carriers, was trading down 1.5%.

Brokers performed better than carriers, and were largely in positive territory, counter to any concerns about their revenue outlook in an uncertain environment for GDP growth.

Ryan Specialty shares were up by 1.6% followed by Marsh McLennan, up 1.2%.

Although the insurance sub-sector of the S&P 500 was in positive territory, fallers were in the majority among U.S. carriers, with the smaller cap companies topping the losses.

Kingstone Companies reversed all of its gains in the week with an 8.4% loss, followed by Maiden Holdings, which shed 7.1%.

Insurtech companies, often prone to high volatility, were also among the top fallers in the U.S. with Root and Lemonade losing 6.5% and 6.2%, followed by Hippo, down 4.3%.

Property cat insurers Heritage, HCI Group and American Coastal fell 3.4%, 2.6% and 2.3%.

Among the large cap companies, AIG and Berkshire Hathaway were down 1.6% and 1.5% respectively, slightly retreating following gains in the last month.

Outside the U.S., Tokio Marine Holdings and MS&AD dropped 5.2% and 4.9%, respectively, topping losses in the cohort of (re)insurers tracked by The Insurer. Sompo followed its peers with a 2.0% decline.

In Europe, French reinsurers Scor and London-listed Direct Line Group, were experiencing the biggest falls in afternoon trading, down 2.5% and 2.3% with respect to yesterday’s close.

Axa, Zurich, Talanx and Swiss Re were also among the biggest fallers in Europe, with declines ranging between 1.5% and 2.0%.