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(ICIS) -- Chemical stocks continued to
tumble on Tuesday as European markets fell further on fresh fears that Greece’s
debt problems will trigger a global economic downturn. Shares fell after
eurozone finance ministers said they would delay releasing an EUR 8bn (USD
10.5bn) instalment of bailout cash to Greece to help it meet its debt
obligations, following news that the country is likely to miss a budget deficit
target.
The Greek government announced on Sunday that its deficit for 2011 is
expected to be 8.5% of GDP, which although down from the 10.5% figure for 2010,
is still above a 7.6% target set by the EU and the International Monetary Fund
(IMF).
Ministers said Greece must show more progress to qualify for the next
tranche of rescue funds.
At 09:40 GMT, the UK’s FTSE 100 was trading 2.09%
down on the previous day's close, Germany’s DAX had fallen by 2.80% and the CAC
40 in France was down 2.53%.
The Dow Jones Euro Stoxx Chemicals index was trading down by 3.05% at
09:48 GMT, as shares in many of Europe’s major chemical companies fell.
Top European producers were hit hard – German major BASF’s shares had
dropped by 3.11%, Bayer had fallen by 2.44%, Dutch coatings firm AkzoNobel was
down by 1.43%, and France’s Arkema had fallen steeply by 8.90%.
mrcplast.com
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