Ping An Profit Rises as Market Recovery Bolsters Returns (2)

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. said profit rose nearly 7% in the first half, after a stock-market recovery helped bolster investment returns at China’s second-largest insurer by market value. The shares jumped.

Net income climbed to 74.6 billion yuan ($10.5 billion) in the six months ended June 30, from 69.8 billion yuan a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Thursday. That reversed a 4.3% profit decline in the first quarter.

Operating profit, which the insurer says better reflects performance by stripping out short-term investment volatility and one-time items, dropped 0.6%, narrowing ...