Experts recorded a massive plunge in the European chemical companies' stocks after the BASF SE analytical agency slashed its forecast for 2018.
According to BASF analysts, the company's profits will plummet by 15-20 percent by the end of this year compared to last year. Previously, the company's revenue was expected to decrease by 10 percent. BASF said the decline was mainly due to the fall in prices for chemical products, the low water level in the Rhine and the weakening demand for cars in China.
In this regard, shares in BASF fell by 5.5 percent to its lowest level since the beginning of 2016. According to expert estimates, the BASF stock price dropped by 5 percent. Shares of BASF’s peers K+S AG, Symrise AG and Lanxess AG sank by 3 percent. Switzerland-based Sika AG lost 4 percent, while Imerys went down by 6 percent. The losses helped to drag the pan-European Stoxx 600 Chemicals index down almost 2 percent.
