Asia petchem shares rise after G20 pledge to inject trillions into global economy

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asian petrochemical shares and crude oil futures rose on Friday after G20 leaders overnight pledged to inject $5 trillion into the global economy to cushion the slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

At 02:30 GMT, Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical was up nearly 2%, South Korean producer LG Chem was 1% higher and Malaysia’s PETRONAS Chemicals Group was up by 2.58%.

Asian stock markets were all in the green, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up by 1.53%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index 1.13% higher and the KOSPI Composite Index 1.66% higher in South Korea.

Company/Stock Exchange	% Change
Nikkei 225 (Japan)	1.53%
Asahi Kasei Corporation	5.22%
JXTG Holdings, Inc.	-2.57%
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation	1.97%
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.	0.82%
Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong)	1.13%
Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited	1.09%
PetroChina Company Limited	-0.78%
KOSPI Composite Index (South Korea)	1.66%
OCI Company Ltd	0.74%
SK Innovation Co., Ltd.	1.18%
LG Chem, Ltd.	1.00%
Lotte Chemical Corporation	3.90%
Hanwha Corporation	6.74%
TSEC weighted index (Taiwan)	1.14%
Formosa Petrochemical Corporation	-0.25%
Nan Ya Plastics Corporation	0.72%
Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation	0.00%
STI Index (Singapore)	2.24%
Wilmar International Limited	1.89%
Olam International Limited	2.03%
FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (Malaysia)	1.30%
SSE Composite Index (Shanghai, China)	0.82%
Jakarta Composite Index (Indonesia)	5.47%
PT. Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk	5.83%

The G20 in a joint communique issued after a video conference call said that it is committed to “do whatever it takes and to use all available policy tools to minimize the economic and social damage from the pandemic, restore global growth, maintain market stability, and strengthen resilience”.

G20 members account for 85% of the world’s GDP, and two-thirds of its population.

Overnight, the major US equity indexes rallied for a third consecutive session on Thursday, as market participants shrugged off the release of record-breaking initial jobless claims, and focused instead on the massive $2tr economic stimulus bill approved by the Senate.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 6.38%, capping off its biggest three-day surge since 1931.

US-listed shares of chemical companies rose for the third day in a row as the country continues to make progress towards passing the massive stimulus package.

The US is now the country with the highest number of coronavirus, surpassing China.

Country	Confirmed coronavirus cases (As of 27 March)
US	85,505
China	81,782
Italy	80,589
Spain	57,786
Germany	43,938
France	29,566

Source: WHO, Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

Earlier on Thursday European stock markets rose for the third day in a row.

The Bank of England (BoE) announced it would keep interest rates at record-low levels of 0.1% to ease the strain of the coronavirus on liquidity in the UK economy.

“Overall, for now, despite obvious ongoing challenges in the fight against the viral outbreak, market sentiment should remain bolstered by policy actions,” Singapore-based OCBC Bank said in a note.

“With the [US] stimulus bill largely priced in, markets are expected to focus on the pandemic numbers and will take their cues from there,” it said.

Crude oil rebounds on stimulus hopes
Oil prices rebounded on Friday after falling in the previous session as sentiment continued to be hammered by the prospect of dwindling demand due to coronavirus travel bans and lockdowns.

Both Brent and US WTI futures are now down about 60% since the start of this year.

$/bbl (02:54 GMT)	Last price	% change	Net change	Close	Session high	Session low
Brent	26.58	0.91%	0.24	26.34	27	26.37
US WTI	22.98	1.68%	0.38	22.6	23.44	22.76

Focus article by Nurluqman Suratman

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