Hannover Re and Swiss Re shares in market sell-off

Shares in Hannover Re and Swiss Re were battered in trading on Tuesday on continuing capital concerns.

For Swiss Re, continued worries about the reinsurer's investment capital sent the Swiss (re)insurer's share price dropping nearly 4%, or 1.67 CHF to 42.91. This followed a note by Societe Generale that Swiss Re could have be at risk from ABS CDOs.

However, analysts at JP Morgan reiterated their confidence that Swiss Re would be able to pay back its debt to Berkshire Hathaway, and could regain their AA- credit rating later in the year.

Hannover Re's share price gave back most of the gains it had made for shareholders in 2009, falling back to €30.74, or over 1.73% on Monday.

Last week Hannover Re said that it was cautious about its prospects for 2010, and lowered its EBIT margin goal.