Leading tyremaker stocks down 2.35% as EC antitrust case opens

The share prices of Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear, Michelin, Nokian and Pirelli were down by an average of 2.35 per cent following the news that the European Commission has started an antitrust investigation within the European Union.

While there was a degree of variation between the impact on the respectively tyremakers, Nokian appears to have faired worst with its share price down 3.8 per cent on 1 February compared with the 30 January.

According to Reuters, Pirelli shares were down as much as 3.8 per cent before being briefly suspended from trading. And Michelin fell 2.9 per cent. Continental was down 3.5 per cent as of 31 January, according to Reuters.

The reason for the apparent loss of investor confidence? Companies found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules face fines of up to 10 per cent of their global turnover. For the largest scale tyremakers, should they be found guilty, that means multi-billion-dollar fines.

The European Commission has form for fining automotive suppliers. In recent years the Commission has fined “nearly a dozen cartels in the car industry, among them suppliers of automotive bearings, car seats, braking systems”, according to Reuters.