Manulife profit rises as Asia, wealth management businesses see strong growth

May 7 (Reuters) - Manulife Financial MFC.TO posted a 3% jump in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by the strong performance of its insurance business in Asia and overall growth in its global wealth and asset management business.

Manulife has been expanding its investment advisory and retirement planning services to tap into the rising demand for long-term financial management.

The firm's push in Asian markets to capture the financial needs of a growing, under-insured middle class has helped its earnings in recent quarters.

Core earnings from Asia rose 7% to C$492 million, while global wealth and asset management reported a 24% jump to C$454 million in the quarter.

However, its U.S. unit saw a 25% drop in core earnings to C$251 million in the quarter due partly to tariff-induced uncertainty in financial markets and more money set aside to cover potential loan losses.

The company's core earnings jumped to C$1.77 billion ($1.28 billion), or 99 Canadian cents per share, in the three months ended March 31. Analysts had expected a profit of 99 Canadian cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

($1 = 1.3838 Canadian dollars)