Manulife hits 2016 earnings target, beats market expectations

TORONTO (Reuters) - Manulife Financial Corp , met its target to achieve earnings of C$4 billion in 2016, reporting results which beat market expectations, benefiting from a strong performance in Asia. The company on Thursday reported earnings of C$4.02 billion ($3.06 billion), or C$1.96 Canadian cents per share, compared with C$3.43 million, or C$1.68 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected earnings of C$1.85 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. ($1