FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Steel stocks suffered outsized losses on Thursday. Thyssenkrupp fell 4.1 percent in morning trading, while Salzgitter dropped 4.4 percent. In Amsterdam, ArcelorMittal shed 2.7 percent. Shares of Hamburg-based copper producer Aurubis fared even worse, losing 5 percent.
Amid mounting economic concerns, basic resources stocks across Europe came under renewed pressure following a recent recovery. The Stoxx Europe 600 Basic Resources index had been particularly hard hit, falling nearly 19 percent in the four weeks following the outbreak of the Iran war, after having reached a record high just before the conflict began.
One market participant also pointed to weak results from US steelmaker Worthington Steel. In the third fiscal quarter ended February, operating profit plummeted year-on-year to just approximately 3 million US dollars. Consequently, the share price collapsed by nearly 13 percent in after-hours trading.
Worthington Steel is currently pursuing a takeover of the Duisburg-based steel distributor Klöckner & Co. The latter's share price eased slightly to 11.90 euros, remaining well above the 11 euros per share offered by Worthington Steel.
Investors are clearly betting on a higher bid from the US company, the trader noted. This speculation is being fueled by the fact that Worthington Steel lowered the minimum acceptance threshold for the takeover on March 10. "From that day on, Klöckner & Co's share price rose above the eleven-euro offer price," he explained./bek/ag/zb
