European chemicals fall as Hormuz reopening seen boosting Asian rivals

Fuchs Se

07/05/2026 12:00

** Shares in European chemicals companies fall as prospects of a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz raise concerns that lower-cost Asian producers would regain access to feedstock, ramping up production and eroding European pricing power

** "Reopening the Strait increases competition from Asia for European diversifieds," says Bernstein analyst James Hooper, noting that selling pressure is concentrated on stocks seen as beneficiaries of Iran-related supply disruptions

** BASF BASFn.DE, Europe's second largest chemicals group by market value, falls as much as 3.2%, adding to declines the day before when reported advances in the peace process caused broad market rally

** Germany's Fuchs FPEn.DE and Evonik EVKn.DE are both down more than 2%, while Lanxess LXSG.DE drops 12%, also weighed down after missing second-quarter core profit estimates

** France's Syensqo SYENS.BR and Arkema AKE.PA are down almost 4%

** Asian rivals retain an advantage against European players thanks to their structurally lower cost bases, as higher energy bills and a sluggish economic recovery have hit demand harder in Germany and other European countries

** The STOXX 600 Chemicals < .SX4P> index is down more than 1% by 1021 GMT, underperforming Europe's broader STOXX 600 index .STOXX,  which is down 0.3%

 (Reporting by Dimitri Rhodes in Gdansk)

 ((dimitri.rhodes@thomsonreuters.com))