Sector stocks gain from positive outlook for global economy

Ever more confident predictions of a global economic recovery in 2010 continued to drive investor sentiment in the broader market and, as the table shows, a great deal of this optimism was very much in evidence over the two weeks ending 15th October in the performance of the insurance and reinsurance sector stocks tracked by WIR. The big exception was Japan where, according to a survey on investor sentiment in Asia by the Dutch financial services group, ING, confidence in the local economic prospects was the lowest in the region. Certainly, the three Japanese insurance groups tracked by WIR all posted significant falls.