Shipping stocks listed in the US were not spared the pain of Wednesday’s sell-off in global equity markets.
In New York no maritime sector escaped the bloodshed with declines seen in tanker, dry bulk, gas and containership sectors.
Teekay Tankers was one of the worst affected down almost 10% to $1.03 per share. DHT, whose stock had been on the rise on the back of stronger VLCC rates, shed 6% to $4.68.
Scorpio Tankers, hit by the double whammy of a dilutive share issue and turbulent markets, lost 13.7% to close at $1.82 per share.
In the dry space Genco Shipping & Trading was the biggest loser, down over 7% to $12.91. Diana Shipping lost almost 7% as did Safe Bulkers.
In the LNG sector the sell-off saw Golar LNG Partners fall 5.1% to $14.06 per share, while sister company Golar LNG lost 4.7% to $25.74.
The worsening tensions between the Trump administration and China also drew blame for the drop on Wednesday, reported The New York Times.
“There’s an increasing realization in the market that this is not just about the trade deficit. This is about security concerns. This is about geopolitical strength,” said Evan Brown, director of asset allocation at UBS Asset Management told the US daily.
“It’s about encouraging US companies to move their supply chains out of China. And so there are questions about a broader disruption and potential legislation or scrutiny in these markets.”
The sell-off continued into Asia on Thursday morning with rig builders Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine down 4% and 5.1% by lunchtime.
In Hong Kong Pacific Basin was down almost 5% to HKD 1.75 (22.3 US cents), Cosco Shipping Holdings was down 5.3% to HKD 2.88, while OOIL was 3.8% weaker at HKD 47.20.
