Chem stocks sink as Dow Jones falls 324 points, breaking 10,000

04 June 2010 21:21  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The stock market hammered chemical stocks on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 324 points and slipped below 10,000.

The Dow closed at 9,931, down nearly 3.2%.

The drop came after a weak employment report from the US, which showed that most of the job gains came from temporary government jobs.

In addition, the euro fell to a four-year low against the US dollar, with the ratio dropping below $1.20. Conversely, the dollar strengthened to nearly €0.84.

Most chemical stocks performed worse than the overall stock market. Among the majors, Dow Chemical fell 4.8% and DuPont fell  3.8%.

Industrial gases producer Praxair fell by 3.0% and Potash Corp of Saskatchewan (PotashCorp) fell by 2.9%.

No North American company followed by ICIS rose in trading. Rockwood fell by the most, dropping 7.7%. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) producer Kronos fell by the least, falling 0.3%.

Many companies fell by more than 6%, including Arch Chemical, CF Industries, WR Grace, Quaker Chemical, NewMarket, A Schulman, Solutia and Stepan.

Paul Hodges studies key influencers shaping the chemical industry in Chemicals and the Economy
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By: Al Greenwood
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