Market and product

Shares of petrochemical firms in Asia were mixed on Wednesday as sentiment turned cautious following a dip on Wall Street overnight, while oil prices were higher as investors pinned hopes on a supply cut deal by OPEC and its allies on Thursday.

At 03:00 GMT, Asahi Kasei was down 1.69% in Tokyo; LG Chem was up 1.78% in Seoul; and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co was 0.51% lower in Hong Kong.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.30%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1% and Singapore's Straits Times Index fell by more than 2%.

Investors continue to track developments related to the coronavirus pandemic as more countries impose stricter social distancing measures.

Japan declared a state of emergency late on Tuesday, while Singapore passed a law which prohibits social gatherings of any size in both private in public spaces.

Meanwhile, China lifted travel restrictions on Wuhan effective Wednesday. The provincial capital of Hubei was the virus epicenter in mainland China and had been on a lockdown since 23 January.

Overnight, most of the US-listed stocks followed by ICIS rose on Tuesday even as the major indices gave up massive rally.

US stocks closed lower after a volatile session on Tuesday with the S&P 500 index falling by 0.2% after surging as much as 3.5% at the opening. The Dow Jones 0.1% to close while the Nasdaq slipped 0.3%.

ALL EYES ON OPEC+ MEETING

Oil rebounded as investors pinned hopes on a supply cut agreement between OPEC members and their allies (OPEC+) at their meeting on Thursday.

Gains were capped by persistent demand concerns due to the coronavirus outbreak and doubts over the role of the US in any output cuts.

"The possibility of output cuts from OPEC+ and beyond continue to be the main driver for prices and is expected to remain so until the output decision is
reached on Thursday," Singapore's OCBC Bank said.

"For such an unprecedented output cut to occur, we think some kind of participation from the US needs to materialise, otherwise there are little incentives for global cooperation," it said.

More than 1.2m people have been infected by the coronavirus so far, according to the latest data by the World Health Organization.

- ICIS-