US chem shares spike as Dow Jones breaks 30,000 for first time

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US-listed shares of chemical companies rose sharply on Tuesday, outperforming the market, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average settled above 30,000 for the first time.

The table below shows the major indices followed by ICIS.

	24-Nov	Change	%
Dow Jones Industrial Average	30,046.24	454.97	1.54
S&P 500	3,635.43	57.84	1.62
Dow Jones US Chemicals Index	744.74	20.48	2.83
S&P 500 Chemicals Industry Index	750.46	19.23	2.63

Nearly every US-listed share followed by ICIS rose, with some clocking gains of more than 6%.

The outperformance by chemical stocks followed a rally in oil markets, as shown in the following table.

$/bbl	24-Nov	23-Nov	Change	%
Brent	47.86	46.06	1.80	3.91%
WTI	44.91	43.06	1.85	4.30%

The rise in oil prices followed progress in at least three coronavirus vaccines. The vaccines could control the pandemic, ending the travel restrictions that have caused oil demand to fall by such large amounts.

Also, the administration of US President Donald Trump has agreed to allow President-elect Joe Biden access to resources for the transition to the White House.

The dollar weakened against other currencies. When the dollar weakens, oil prices tend to rise.

US chemical producers benefit from higher crude prices because they rely predominantly on gas-based feedstock, giving them a cost advantage against much of the world, which relies on oil-based naphtha.

Demand for chemicals should also rise once the pandemic gets under control.

The table below shows the US-listed shares followed by ICIS.

	$ Current Price	$ Change	% Change
AdvanSix	19.39	1.20	6.60
Avient	38.40	1.93	5.28
Axalta Coating Systems	28.81	0.32	1.12
Braskem	8.91	0.17	1.95
Celanese	137.06	2.55	1.89
Dow	57.61	1.67	2.99
DuPont	65.62	2.05	3.22
Eastman	103.40	3.40	3.40
HB Fuller	54.67	1.29	2.42
Huntsman	26.06	0.83	3.29
Ingevity	71.49	0.65	0.92
Kraton	30.07	1.17	4.05
Kronos Worldwide	14.43	0.39	2.78
LyondellBasell	90.94	5.77	6.77
Methanex	41.34	2.27	5.81
NewMarket	379.17	6.66	1.79
Olin	23.21	0.69	3.04
PPG	147.57	2.79	1.93
RPM International	88.52	-0.40	-0.45
Sherwin-Williams	735.81	1.68	0.23
Stepan	123.73	0.64	0.52
Chemours	25.53	1.86	7.86
Trinseo	41.25	1.78	4.51
Tronox	12.83	0.46	3.68
Univar	18.76	0.61	3.36
Venator	2.28	0.19	9.09
Westlake	79.49	3.42	4.49

Additional reporting by Ignacio Sotolongo

Image by Shutterstock

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