Update: Chems surge as US Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 423 pts

HOUSTON (ICIS)--North American chemical stocks surged on Thursday, with several outperforming the overall market as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 423.
The index reached 11,143.31, up 3.95%.
The jump followed a report issued by the US Department of Labor, which showed that unemployment claims for the week ended 6 August fell 7,000 to reach 395,000.
The four-week moving average was 405,000, down 3,250 from the previous week's revised average of 408,250, the department said.
The rise in the Dow Jones sent several chemical stocks soaring. In the past few days, chemical stocks have been outperforming the average during its wild swings up and down.
Only one company followed by ICIS fell. Compounder Spartech dropped by 0.65%.
Butadiene (BD) producer TPC Group gained the most, rising 23%. The jump followed the company's release of its second-quarter earnings, which showed a 138% rise in net income.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer Georgia Gulf rose nearly 16% and specialty chemicals producer Ferro rose 10%.
Base-oils producer Calumet rose nearly 7%.
Among the majors, Dow Chemical rose by nearly 5% and DuPont rose by nearly 6% on Thursday.
Industrial gasses producer Praxair gained 5% and fertilizer producer PotashCorp rose by nearly 7%.
The overall gains in stocks, though, do not make up for the recent losses in the market. Near the end of July, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was more than 12,500. The fall in the stock market has renewed concerns about another recession.
Investment bank Jefferies & Co put it at one in four, according to a research note by Laurence Alexander, an analyst who follows the chemical industry.
He noted a few possible trends that could strengthen the prospects of the chemical industry.
The US government could intervene, stabilising the market, he said.
Overall, companies have lower inventories of product, which should mitigate any risks of customers delaying purchases in hopes of securing lower prices, Alexander said.
Many companies are in the middle of productivity programmes that should improve their margins, he said.
Also, chemical producers are more disciplined about managing maintenance shutdowns, Alexander said. For example, planned shutdowns in the US and Asia should improve margins in the ethylene chain.
The ACC and others noted that the feedstock advantage in the US could allow chemical producers to rely on exports to offset lower demand.

译文如下：

休斯顿（ICIS）——北美化工股份昨日暴涨，其中某些股票表现要高于市场整体行情。道琼斯工业平均数上涨423点达11,143.31点，涨幅3.95%。
美国劳工部发表报告称上周失业赔偿下降7，000至395，000。道指随后上升。
劳工部称，四周以来的移动平均数为405,000，由上周修改的408,250下降了3,250。道指的上涨使得数家化工股份激增。在过去几天里，在道指上下浮动时，化工股份的表现要好的多。在ICIS跟踪的企业中，只有一家股份下跌：混炼商Spartech下跌0.65%。
丁二烯制造商TPC集团收益最多，股份上涨23%。TPC公布其二季度收益之后，公司股价随之上行，数据显示TPC二季度净收入有138%的上涨。
PVC制造商格鲁吉亚海湾上涨近16%，特殊化学品制造商Ferro上涨10%。炼油商卡璐美上涨近7%。
在大型化工企业中，昨日，陶氏化学上涨近5%，杜邦上涨近6%。工业气体制造商普莱克斯上涨5%，肥料制造商钾肥公司上涨近7%。
股市整体的收益没能弥补近期的市场损失。7月下旬附近，道琼斯工业平均数超过12，500。股票市场的下跌使得市场人士担心有可能再次发生金融危机。
根据化工产业方面的专家，劳伦斯•亚历山大写的报告，投资银行Jefferies & Co 认为有四分之一的机会可能再次发生经济衰退。亚历山大指出，几个可能发生趋势会加强化工产业的前景。美国政府可以干预并稳固市场。总体上说，库存不足的企业应降低客户因低价预期而推迟采购的风险。生产计划正在进行中的企业应提高自身利益。同时，化工企业对于设备的停产检修更为严格。例如，美国和亚洲市场上按计划的停车检修应该提高乙烯产业链的收益。
ACC以及其他组织则认为美国原料行情上涨可以使化工企业依靠出口市场来抵消疲软的需求。