Europe chems continue slide on recession fears

27 October 2008 12:33  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--European chemicals stocks continued to slide on Monday as investors remained nervous over the global economic downturn and fears of a recession.

 

Markets fell across Europe and Asia with the UK’s FTSE 100 at one point hitting a five-year low and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plunging to a 26-year low.

 

Shares in chemical companies were heading in the same direction in late morning trading with BASF down 10.10% at €20.11 ($25.34), Bayer falling 9.93% to €36.93 and Arkema 5.57% lower at €16.28.

 

DSM lost almost 15% of its share price, down 14.76% at €21.89, after the Netherlands-based specialty chemicals firm revised its full-year forecast down as it released third-quarter results.

 

Merck KGaA was also down 9.26% to €58.97 at 12:15 GMT after its third quarter was affected by currency movements.    

 

The Dow Jones Eurostoxx chemicals index was down 8.47% while in other markets the FTSE 100 was down 4.28%, Paris’s CAC 40 was 5.48% lower and Germany’s DAX index fell 3.89%.

 

On Friday economic data showed that the UK was on the brink of recession as its economy had shrunk, falling by 0.5%, for the first time in 16 years.

 

If the country’s economy slows again in the fourth quarter it will be technically in recession. Many of Europe’s major economies, including Germany, were thought to be in a similar state.

 

($1 = €0.80)

 

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By: Graeme Paterson
+44 20 8652 3214

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