Asian petrochemical shares mixed; oil rises on demand recovery hopes

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asian petrochemical shares were mixed while oil prices rose on Tuesday on hopes of a quick global economic recovery as investors await further clues on policy measures in the US.

At 03:12 GMT, Asahi Kasei Corp was down by more than 2% in Tokyo, PetroChina Co rose by more than 1% in Hong Kong and LG Chem fell by 1.38% in Seoul.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped by 0.64%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up by 1.09% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose by more than 1%.

Company/Stock Exchange	% Change
Nikkei 225 (Tokyo)	-0.64%
Asahi Kasei Corp	-2.37%
JXTG Holdings, Inc	-1.24%
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp	-0.10%
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc	-0.44%
Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong)	1.09%
Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical	0.48%
PetroChina	1.41%
KOSPI Composite Index (Seoul)	-0.15%
OCI Company	-0.23%
SK Innovation	0.00%
LG Chem	-1.38%
Lotte Chemical Corp	-3.09%
Hanwha Corp	15.75%
TSEC weighted index (Taipei)	0.07%
Formosa Petrochemical Corp	0.95%
Nan Ya Plastics Corp	0.15%
Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp	0.13%
STI Index (Singapore)	1.02%
Wilmar International	-0.99%
Olam International	0.66%
FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (Kuala Lumpur)	1.54%
SSE Composite Index (Shanghai)	0.48%
Jakarta Composite Index	1.15%
PT. Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk	1.80%
SET Index (Thailand)	0.07%
PTT Global Chemical	0.49%
Indorama Ventures	-2.26%
IRPC	-1.96%
The Siam Cement	-1.36%
Thai Oil	-2.97%

Investors are now eyeing outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, which ends on Wednesday.

Overnight, most US-listed shares of chemical companies rose following Friday’s surprising jobs report and news of easing lockdowns.

Risk appetite in Asian markets is being weighed down by the World Bank’s latest warning of a deeper global recession.

The World Bank late on Monday said that global GDP this year will contract by 5.2% – the deepest global recession in eight decades despite unprecedented policy support.

Fresh tensions between the two Koreas are also keeping equities investors wary.

North Korea threatened last week to shut communication lines with South Korea unless the latter stops defector groups from sending anti-government leaflets across the border.

Oil prices rose on optimism that the easing of coronavirus-related lockdowns will boost demand for gasoline.

$/bbl (As of 03:30 GMT)	Last Price	% Change	Net Change	Close	High	Low
August Brent	41.09	0.71%	0.29	40.8	41.45	40.88
July US WTI	38.54	0.92%	0.35	38.19	38.86	38.12

Overnight, crude prices fell on news that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies – Kuwait and the UAE – will end their voluntary production cuts of additional 1.18m bbl/day in July.

In June, the total global supply cuts stood at almost 11 bbl/day, which had helped “bolster the current oil bull run”, Singapore’s OCBC Bank said in a research note.

For next month, the output cut will be 9.7m bbl/day or 10% of total supply as agreed on 6 June between OPEC and its allies, including Russia. This meant that the group would maintain reduced production levels adopted in May and June.

Focus article by Nurluqman Suratman

Photo: Taxi driver wearing a face mask near a mural in Jakarta. Indonesia’s capital partly re-opened on 8 June after two months of lockdown. (Photo by Dita Alangkara/AP/Shutterstock)

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