Asia petrochemical shares, oil gain on promising results for coronavirus vaccine

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asian petrochemical shares and oil prices rose on Tuesday amid hopes of a quick economic recovery following positive data from an early-stage trial for a coronavirus vaccine.

At 02:10 GMT, Mitsui Chemicals surged more than 5% in Tokyo, Lotte Chemical was up more than 2% in Seoul and Formosa Petrochemical Corp rose by 4.82% in Taipei.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 1.90%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up by 2.30% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index was up by 1.94%.

Company/Stock Exchange	% Change
Nikkei 225 (Tokyo)	1.90%
Asahi Kasei Corporation	2.65%
JXTG Holdings, Inc.	3.10%
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation	3.98%
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.	5.61%
Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong)	2.30%
Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited	2.44%
PetroChina Company Limited	4.81%
KOSPI Composite Index (Seoul)	1.79%
OCI Company Ltd	3.04%
SK Innovation Co., Ltd.	6.92%
LG Chem, Ltd.	1.13%
Lotte Chemical Corporation	2.41%
Hanwha Corporation	2.08%
TSEC weighted index (Taipei)	1.22%
Formosa Petrochemical Corporation	4.82%
Nan Ya Plastics Corporation	2.08%
Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation	2.08%
STI Index (Singapore)	1.94%
Wilmar International Limited	1.57%
Olam International Limited	1.34%
FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (Kuala Lumpur)	0.89%
SSE Composite Index (Shanghai)	0.77%
Jakarta Composite Index	0.08%
PT. Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk	-3.05%

Overnight, shares of US-listed chemical companies rose sharply after biotech firm Moderna announced positive phase-one results for its coronavirus vaccine, boosting hopes that a vaccine could be available late this year.

US equity markets surged the most in six weeks, with the S&P 500 closing 3.2% higher and the Dow Jones Industrial Index surging by 3.9%.

Crude oil prices rose in Asia on Tuesday, extending gains for the fourth straight sessions following easing of lockdowns in various locations in the US and Europe, as well as output cuts from oil producers.

$/bbl (As of 02:45 GMT)	Last price	% change	Net change	Close	High	Low
July Brent	34.99	0.52%	0.18	34.81	35.76	34.98
June US TWI	32.51	2.17%	0.69	31.82	33.44	32.51

Lingering worries over poor long-term economic growth capped gains.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva on Monday said that the IMF was likely to revise downward its forecast for a 3% contraction in global GDP this year.

Only a partial recovery could happen in 2021 instead of the 5.8% growth initially projected, she added.

The novel coronavirus outbreak, which started late last year in China, has infected more than 4.6m people globally, with the death toll at more than 300,000, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).Most economies have resorted to lockdowns to contain the spread of the deadly pandemic.

“The economic dislocation will be the sharpest on record for many countries, with the most pain likely felt in Q2,” ratings firm Fitch Solutions said in a note.

“We continue to expect that quarter-on-quarter growth will rebound over the third and fourth quarters as economies start to re-open, but global output will remain below the 2019 pre-crisis levels well into 2021, if not longer,” it said.

Focus article by Nurluqman Suratman

Photo: Moderna, Inc, building, in Cambridge, Massachussets, US. The company announced Monday that an experimental vaccine against the coronavirus showed encouraging results in very early testing, triggering hopes-for immune responses in eight healthy, middle-aged volunteers. 18 May 2020 (By Bill Sikes/AP/Shutterstock)

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