BASF Profit Warning Ripples Through Economy From Cars to Crops
- Downturn takes hold with auto weakness, U.S.-China trade spat
- ‘This season is going to be challenging for BASF and others’
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BASF SE fired a warning shot signaling a weakening global economy, as the world’s largest chemical company said slowing markets from cars to crops and the impact of the U.S.-China trade war threaten to cut profit by 30% this year.
The German maker of plastics, pesticides and lubricant additives dropped the most in two months, leading chemical-maker peers lower. But with the Ludwigshafen-based company supplying industries ranging from autos to consumer products and computer chips, investors quickly called into question the outlook for other sectors in the upcoming earnings season.