Sell-off hits US chem shares in worst day since March
Al Greenwood
11-Jun-2020
HOUSTON (ICIS)–US-listed shares of chemical companies fell sharply on Thursday in their worst day since the sell-off in stock markets in March, amid worries that the nation faces a second wave of coronavirus infections.
The table below shows the performance of the US-listed companies followed by ICIS.
$ Current Price | $ Change | % Change | |
AdvanSix | 12.10 | -2.28 | -15.86 |
Axalta Coating Systems | 21.68 | -1.79 | -7.63 |
Braskem | 10.18 | -0.70 | -6.43 |
Celanese | 85.51 | -9.06 | -9.58 |
Dow | 39.27 | -4.32 | -9.90 |
DuPont | 49.69 | -4.00 | -7.44 |
Eastman | 66.53 | -9.11 | -12.04 |
HB Fuller | 37.76 | -4.22 | -10.05 |
Huntsman | 17.79 | -1.37 | -7.15 |
Ingevity | 48.33 | -6.12 | -11.24 |
Kraton | 14.77 | -2.51 | -14.50 |
Kronos Worldwide | 9.45 | -0.95 | -9.13 |
LyondellBasell | 63.81 | -9.77 | -13.27 |
Methanex | 19.70 | -2.42 | -10.92 |
NewMarket | 398.48 | -35.57 | -8.19 |
Olin | 12.78 | -0.62 | -4.63 |
PolyOne | 25.08 | -2.28 | -8.33 |
PPG | 99.34 | -9.70 | -8.90 |
RPM International | 71.86 | -7.36 | -9.29 |
Sherwin-Williams | 546.28 | -34.68 | -5.97 |
Stepan | 93.34 | -6.08 | -6.12 |
Chemours | 13.65 | -2.41 | -14.98 |
Trinseo | 20.48 | -3.06 | -13.00 |
Tronox | 6.78 | -1.19 | -14.94 |
Univar | 15.76 | -1.54 | -8.90 |
Venator Materials | 1.82 | -0.26 | -12.50 |
Westlake Chemical | 51.38 | -3.82 | -6.91 |
The performance was comparable with 18 March.
The general stock market also logged its steepest declines since March, as shown in the table below.
11-Jun | Change | % | |
Dow Jones Industrial Average | 25,128.17 | -1,861.82 | -6.90 |
S&P 500 | 3,002.10 | -188.04 | -5.89 |
Dow Jones US Chemicals Index | 567.89 | -50.50 | -8.17 |
S&P 500 Chemicals Industry Index | 570.38 | -48.91 | -7.90 |
Oil prices also fell sharply, as shown in the following table.
11-Jun | 10-Jun | % | |
Brent | 38.55 | 41.73 | -7.62 |
WTI | 36.34 | 39.60 | -8.23 |
The declines in oil and stock markets came amid signs that the number of cases are growing in individual US states, while they continue to loosen work and travel restrictions.
The Associated Press reported that hospitals in the state of Arizona have been told to prepare for the worse. The state of Texas is sending more people to the hospital for coronavirus than ever before.
Johns Hopkins University shows that the three-day moving average of new infections is becoming more pronounced in several US states.
The number of cases in the US is approaching 2m, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fatalities exceed 110,000, making the disease deadlier than recent bouts of influenza.
Worries about the coronavirus overwhelmed the weekly jobless report from the US Department of Labor. During the week that ended on 6 June, jobless claims reached 1.54m, down by 355,000 from the previous week.
In Europe, chemical stocks also suffered heavy losses.
The industrialised nations club OCDE published one of the most pessimist forecasts yet for this year.
The European Stoxx 600 index, with 30 chemicals listed firms, was down nearly 4% approaching the closing of the session.
In Asia, chemical stocks also fell.
Focus article by Al
Greenwood
Thumbnail image by
Shutterstock
Additional reporting
by Jonathan Lopez and Nurluqman
Suratman
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