US chem shares rise, breaking from oil, general market

Al Greenwood

04-Jun-2020

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Many US-listed shares of chemical companies rose on Thursday, even as the general stock market was mixed and oil prices rose slightly.

The table below shows the US-listed stocks followed by ICIS.

$ Current

Price

$ Change % Change
AdvanSix 13.80 0.70 5.34
Axalta Coating Systems 24.43 -0.01 -0.04
Braskem 10.66 -0.47 -4.22
Celanese 95.83 0.00 0.00
Dow 42.67 1.04 2.50
DuPont 54.85 0.27 0.49
Eastman 72.97 1.12 1.56
HB Fuller 42.44 0.90 2.17
Huntsman 19.38 0.47 2.49
Ingevity 56.08 -1.80 -3.11
Kraton 17.35 0.11 0.64
Kronos Worldwide 10.49 0.25 2.44
LyondellBasell 73.53 3.03 4.29
Methanex 21.27 1.85 9.53
NewMarket 437.96 6.74 1.56
Olin 14.04 0.68 5.09
PolyOne 27.56 0.17 0.60
PPG 110.62 -1.06 -0.95
RPM International 77.08 -1.05 -1.34
Sherwin-Williams 573.32 -20.85 -3.51
Stepan 98.69 -0.90 -0.90
Chemours 15.70 0.90 6.08
Trinseo 24.03 1.46 6.47
Tronox 7.84 0.56 7.69
Univar 17.32 0.31 1.79
Venator Materials 1.97 0.27 16.11
Westlake Chemical 55.24 2.74 5.22

Canadian methanol producer Methanex was among the biggest gainer. The company had obtained changes to the terms of its debt that will give it covenant relief and more flexibility on its Geismar 3 methanol project in Louisiana.

During a webinar, ICIS Deputy Managing Editor Zachary Moore said that North American polyethylene (PE) producers saw stronger demand during the coronavirus than producers of many other chemicals and resins.

In oil markets, futures prices rose slightly, as shown in the following table.

4-Jun 3-Jun %
Brent 39.99 39.79 0.50
WTI 37.41 37.29 0.32

The general stock market was mixed, as shown in the following table.

4-Jun Change %
Dow Jones Industrial Average 26,281.82 11.93 0.05
S&P 500 3,112.35 -10.52 -0.34
Dow Jones US Chemicals Index 617.58 3.73 0.61
S&P 500 Chemicals Industry Index 617.22 0.85 0.14

For the week ending on 30 May, US jobless claims reached 1.88m, down by 249,000 from the previous week, according to the Department of Labor.

In Europe, bourses recouped some of the losses earlier on Thursday nearing the closing but remained in the red despite stimulus approved by the German cabinet and the European Central Bank (ECB).

In Asia, petrochemical shares were mixed on Thursday on fresh tensions between the US and China.

Click here to view the ICIS Coronavirus, oil price crash – impact on chemicals topic page.

Additional reporting by Jonathan Lopez and Nurluqman Suratman

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