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Summary
- UK manufacturing output grew to its highest in April, driven by few important sectors, including chemicals.
- Chemical’s giant Croda’s shares surged in trade today.
The UK chemicals sector has faced some volatility due to the ongoing public health crisis. However, the UK’s manufacturing output grew at its highest growth rate since April 1994.
UK’s manufacturing PMI rose to 60.9 in April, from 58.9 in March and was primarily driven by chemicals, electronic engineering and metal sectors.
In this article, we take a deeper dive into why these 2 FTSE listed chemicals stocks were trending today:
- Croda International PLC (LON: CRDA)
UK based specialty chemicals giant Croda International is an FTSE 100 constituent and was the highest riser in the index, jumping over 2 per cent during trading.
Croda’s shares seem to have taken a cue from the investment bank Goldman Sachs’ changed ratings from sell to buy, thus giving it a double upgrade due to a positive outlook in its life science and consumer care business segments.
(Image Source: Refinitiv)
CRDA’s shares were trading up by 2.72 per cent at GBX 7,024.00, while the FTSE 100 was trading at 7,010.53, down by 0.27 per cent on 26 May at 14:13 HRS GMT+1.
CRDA’s market cap is £9.540 billion, while its year-to-date return stood at 6.58 per cent. The company’s FY 2019 price to earnings (PE) ratio stood at 29.63x.
Also Read: Are These 5 Stocks Good for Growth - CRDA, BOOT, RST, VCT and ANX?
- Johnson Matthey PLC (LON: JMAT)
Another FTSE 100 listed firm Johnson Matthey is a multinational sustainable technology and specialty chemicals company. JMAT announced a memorandum of understanding with US-based green hydrogen solutions Plug Power Inc to develop next generation electrolyser technology as part of its net zero climate goals.
JMAT had recently announced its goals to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. The company had also launched a new Battery Technology Centre to develop new electric batteries.
(Image Source: Refinitiv)
JAMT’s shares were trading down by 0.60 per cent at GBX 3,162.00, while the industrial chemical sectoral index was trading at 15,601.81, up by 1.19 per cent on 26 May at 14:21 HRS GMT+1.
JMAT’s market cap is £6.156 billion, while its year-to-date return stood at 30.35 per cent. The company’s PE ratio stood at 13.59x.
Also Read: Two AIM speciality chemicals stocks turned multibagger amid prevailing bear market: BYOT and SYM
