(Yicai) Jan. 6 -- The Shanghai Composite Index reached a 10-year peak, topping last November’s bull-market high, as insurance stocks climbed further, with analysts forecasting more upside on the back of earnings growth and rising valuations.

The benchmark index finished 1.5 percent higher at 4,083.67 today, the highest close since July 2015. It has ended higher for 13 straight trading days, the longest run of gains since 1993. Insurers led the advance, jumping 6.7 percent and 4.2 percent in the first two trading days of 2026.

The Shenzhen Component Index also rose today, adding 1.4 percent to 14,022.55, the highest close since January 2022, while the ChiNext Index rose 0.8 percent to 3,319.29, its loftiest point since last October.

New China Life Insurance [SHA: 601336] and China Pacific Insurance [SHA: 601601] hit record highs for two days in a row. New China Life closed up 6.5 percent at CNY80.80 (USD11.58) per share today, following an 8.9 percent surge yesterday. China Pacific jumped 5.1 percent to finish at CNY47.35, after climbing 7.5 percent the day before.

Other insurance companies also made strides. Ping An Insurance [SHA: 601318] rose 2.7 percent to CNY74.32 (USD10.65); China Life Insurance [SHA: 601628] added 2.9 percent to CNY49.67; and The People’s Insurance Company of China [SHA: 601319] climbed 3.9 percent to CNY9.80. 

Goldman Sachs forecasts further, sustained gains for China’s stock market. In a research report published yesterday, the US investment bank said it expects the market to deliver 15 percent to 20 percent annual gains over the next two years, driven by earnings growth of 14 percent and 12 percent in 2026 and 2027, respectively, along with a roughly 10 percent upswing in valuations.

The Chinese stock market rallied last year thanks to an investment boom in technology stocks. The Shanghai Composite Index added 18 percent, the Shenzhen Component Index 30 percent, and the ChiNext Index 50 percent.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Tom Litting