QBE Insurance Shares Climb as Investors Seek Defensive Havens From AI Rout Ahead of November Trading Update

SYDNEY — Shares of QBE Insurance Group Ltd. rose 3.3% on Friday as investors moved into defensive financial stocks while a global selloff in technology and mining shares weighed on the broader Australian market.

QBE shares gained 86 cents to close at A$26.75, the session high, after trading as low as A$25.90. About 4.2 million shares changed hands, and the gain lifted the insurer's market value to about A$40 billion. The stock is up about 35% over the past year.

Defensive rotation

The insurer gained as investors sought safety. Defensive pockets of the market such as staples, banks and utilities held steady as the ASX 200 fell, with banks catching a defensive bid.

The benchmark ASX 200 fell about 0.5% to 9,020 points.

QBE did not release any price-sensitive news on Friday.

Solid first half

The rally builds on steady results. QBE's first-half 2026 adjusted net profit after tax was US$1,033 million, up from US$997 million a year earlier, with return on equity of 17.7%.

Gross written premium rose 6% to about A$15 billion, and the combined ratio was 92.8%, in line with a full-year outlook of about 92.5%.

Reserves held up well. Prior accident-year claims development was favorable by US$403 million, and the interim dividend was A$0.33 a share.

The shares have recovered strongly since the August result. The stock fell 5.26% to A$22.235 after those results.

What's next

Investors are awaiting the next update. QBE said it will hold its usual third-quarter update on Nov. 27. That update should show premium growth, rate movement and catastrophe experience for the nine months to Sept. 30.

A key focus will be premium rates. A year ago, softer rate growth weighed on the stock. In November 2025, QBE shares hit a seven-month low after the group signalled slower premium rate growth, even as it unveiled a A$450 million buyback.

QBE's full-year 2026 result is expected in February 2027.