JPMorgan analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas raised his price target for Linde plc to $230 from $211 saying the company is "in good shape for 2020" after it "confidently projected" earnings in a range of $8.00 to $8.25 for the year, up 9%-12%. The analyst keeps an Overweight rating on the shares.

Linde announced it has signed two agreements with China South Steel, a member of the China Baowu Steel Group Corporation, one of the world's largest steel enterprises. Linde has signed an agreement to de-captivate an air separation unit, or ASU, at China South Steel's plant in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province. Linde already owns and operates five on-site ASUs to supply industrial gases to China South Steel in Shaoguan and will now de-captivate and upgrade a sixth. The agreement brings Linde's total on-site production capacity in Shaoguan to approximately 130,000 cubic meters per hour. In addition to the de-captivation, Linde has extended its long-term agreement with China South Steel for the supply of industrial gases at Shaoguan. Linde's industrial gases complex also meets demand from Linde's local merchant customers.