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(ICIS) -- The US could be veering towards
another recession, petrochemical market participants said on Friday, as a
massive sell-off in chemical stocks became the latest sign of a slowdown.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 513 points on Thursday, its worst day since
the 680 drop in December 2008. Chemical stocks were hit particularly hard during
Thursday's sell-off, with several falling by more than 7%.
The decline was the latest in a series of bad news, which overshadowed
what has largely been a strong earnings season for North American chemical
companies.
In July, a statistic that measures the growth of the US manufacturing
sector fell to its lowest point since the end of the recession. Manufacturing
activity barely grew in July, according to that statistic, the purchasing
managers index (PMI) of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
mrcplast.com
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