The bounce in Dow ($DOW) and LyondellBasell ($LYB) has turned into a real trend, not just a stabilization off deep-oversold lows: both names now show positive 30-day changes for the first time in this cluster's recent scans, with LyondellBasell swinging from -1.5% to +7.48%. But Sherwin-Williams ($SHW) broke down hard the same week — its trend classification dropped from weak-up to strong-down, it posted the sector's worst weekly decline (-4.17%), and its death cross is now confirmed. Air Products ($APD) remains the steadiest name in the group, still up 7.53% over 30 days, while DuPont ($DD) posted the sharpest RSI recovery in the sector (43.4→49.6) after last scan's rollover. Ecolab ($ECL) and PPG Industries both reversed to negative weeks, extending their cooldown.

Data as-of 2026-07-24 close (all eight tickers, current); scan run 2026-07-25. All numbers from precomputed summaries/chemicals.json. Prior scan: 2026-07-17-chemicals (2026-07-17 close).

Two separate stories are running in this sector at once. On one side, Dow and LyondellBasell — the two names that spent early July deeply oversold — have now strung together enough weekly gains that their 30-day changes flipped fully positive for the first time. LyondellBasell's RSI is back above 50 for a second straight scan, and both names narrowed their distance to their 52-week highs this week. On the other side, Sherwin-Williams, which had been merely "cooling" for the past two scans, broke structure outright: its trend classification downgraded to strong-down, it posted the sector's worst weekly decline, and its death cross — previously unresolved — is now confirmed.

In between, Air Products continues to be the sector's cleanest large-cap structure, still up solidly on 30 days. DuPont had the sharpest single-week RSI recovery in the group after last scan's rollover, though its 30-day change is only now approaching flat rather than positive. Linde is stabilizing (RSI ticked up, weekly decline nearly erased) but hasn't recovered the strong-up trend it lost two scans ago. Ecolab and PPG both gave back their prior stabilization, reversing to negative weeks with 30-day changes deepening further.

• Dow: RSI 46.8→45.7, trend weak-down→down, 7D +3.07%→-0.27% (reversed), 30D -5.7%→+1.57% (flipped positive), 52wkHi -30.0%→-27.7% (narrowed).
• LyondellBasell: RSI 52.2→53.5 (extended above 50), trend unchanged (weak-down), 7D +5.0%→+1.94% (still positive, smaller), 30D -1.5%→+7.48% (flipped strongly positive), 52wkHi -29.51%→-26.47% (narrowed).
• Sherwin-Williams: RSI 50.7→43.2 (sharpest drop in the sector), trend downgraded weak-up→strong-down, 7D -0.8%→-4.17% (worst decliner), 30D +3.28%→-4.69% (flipped negative), 52wkHi -12.73%→-18.2% (widened), death cross now confirmed (was unresolved).
• Air Products: RSI 52.8→54.4, trend unchanged (strong-up), 7D -1.31%→+0.76% (turned positive), 30D +6.15%→+7.53% (extended, still best 30D alongside LyondellBasell), 52wkHi -6.11%→-6.54% (roughly flat, still best in sector).
• Linde: RSI 45.5→46.7 (modest recovery), trend unchanged (weak-down), 7D -3.13%→-0.18% (much calmer), 30D +0.21%→-0.67% (roughly flat), 52wkHi -6.38%→-7.64% (slightly widened).
• Ecolab: RSI 50.9→48.2, trend up→weak-up (slight downgrade), 7D -0.54%→-1.5% (worsened), 30D +1.38%→-2.73% (flipped negative), 52wkHi -11.78%→-14.92% (widened), death cross still unresolved.
• PPG: RSI 50.0→48.5, trend unchanged (strong-up), 7D +0.51%→-1.16% (reversed to negative), 30D -0.75%→-4.12% (worsened), 52wkHi -12.04%→-14.75% (widened).
• DuPont: RSI 43.4→49.6 (sharpest recovery in sector), trend unchanged (weak-down), 7D +0.45%→+1.78% (improved), 30D -5.48%→-0.09% (sharply improved, near flat), 52wkHi -14.36%→-13.03% (narrowed slightly).

RSI (Relative Strength Index) gauges how aggressively a stock has been bought or sold over roughly the past two weeks, on a 0-100 scale — under 30 signals an oversold, potentially undervalued stretch; over 70 signals overbought, extended risk; readings in between are neutral. The color icons below track that scale: green marks oversold/healthy, yellow marks neutral, orange marks approaching overbought, red marks a breakdown or extreme overbought reading. Trend reflects a stock's structural direction based on its moving averages (strong-up, weak-up, weak-down, strong-down); vs SMA20 shows how far price sits above or below its 20-day average; 52wkHi shows the distance below the stock's own one-year high — the closer to zero, the closer to a new high.

DOW AND LYB — THE BOUNCE BECOMES A TREND: Dow ($29.84, RSI 45.7) and LyondellBasell ($60.32, RSI 53.5) both crossed a new threshold this scan: their 30-day changes flipped fully positive (Dow +1.57%, was -5.7%; LyondellBasell +7.48%, was -1.5%), and both narrowed their distance to their 52-week highs. LyondellBasell's RSI held above 50 for a second straight scan. This is now three-plus scans of stabilization off the deep-oversold lows from earlier in the year, and it's the first time the 30-day measure has confirmed it.

SHW BREAKS DOWN HARD: Sherwin-Williams ($317.51, RSI 43.2, was 50.7) is this scan's clearest casualty. Its trend classification dropped from weak-up to strong-down, it posted the sector's worst weekly decline (-4.17%), its 30-day change flipped negative (-4.69%, was +3.28%), and its death cross — flagged as unresolved in prior scans — is now confirmed. This is the sharpest single-scan deterioration in the sector.

APD STILL THE STEADIEST HOLD; DD'S SHARP RECOVERY: Air Products ($297.87, RSI 54.4) remains the sector's cleanest large-cap structure, extending its 30-day gain to 7.53% and holding a strong-up trend throughout. DuPont ($137.70, RSI 49.6, was 43.4) posted the sharpest single-week RSI recovery in the sector after last scan's rollover, with its 30-day change improving from -5.48% to nearly flat (-0.09%), though its trend classification hasn't recovered to strong-up yet.

ECL AND PPG — COOLING CONTINUES, LIN STABILIZING: Ecolab ($268.75, RSI 48.2) and PPG Industries ($116.00, RSI 48.5) both reversed to negative weeks after brief stabilization last scan, with both 30-day changes deepening further negative and both distances from their 52-week highs widening. Linde ($512.28, RSI 46.7, was 45.5) posted a modest recovery — its weekly decline nearly erased — but its trend classification remains weak-down, unchanged since the downgrade flagged two scans ago.

Does Sherwin-Williams' breakdown stabilize next scan, or does it continue given the freshly confirmed death cross? Does the Dow/LyondellBasell bounce, now showing positive 30-day changes for the first time, hold through another week, or was this scan's move a peak? Does Linde recover its lost strong-up trend, or does the specialty complex keep cooling the way Ecolab and PPG did this week?

• Tape data (price/RSI/SMA/returns): pre-computed summaries as of the 2026-07-24 close — chemicals.