MARKET PAYS OFF FOR SOME COMPANIES

Abstract

CHEMICAL STOCKS BY FAR OUTperformed shares in pharmaceutical companies in the fourth quarter and even outperformed the Dow Jones industrial average as investors decided the manufacturing recession may be nearing an end. C&EN's chemical company stock index—compiled from 25 major producers—finished the year at 155 (1992 = 100), up 15.0% from the end of the third quarter and off just 1.9% from its close on Dec. 31, 2000. The Dow Jones average was up a lesser 133% from the September close and down 71% from the end of 2000. Chemical company stocks were much less volatile in the fourth quarter than they were in the third, marred as they were by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the attendant worries over the country's economic and political outlook. In the third quarter, the chemical company index closed at just 134, down 16.7% from the quarterly high seen in July and up 10.7% from the post-attack low ...