ADR Report: Shares Close Higher As Broader Market Edges Up

8th Jun 2010 22:01

By Caitlin Nish Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--International companies trading in New York closed higher Tuesday as the broader market gained late in the session although technology stocks pulled the Nasdaq Composite lower. The Bank of New York index of ADRs rose 1.4% to 112.81 as commodity producers and banks led gains in the broader market, with investors' fear of risk abating. The European index climbed 1% to 101.02, helped by strength in shares of energy companies. Spanish energy company Repsol YPF SA (REP, REP.MC) gained 2% to $19.26 while Norway's Statoil ASA (STO, STL.OS) rose 1.6% to $19.96 and France's Total SA (TOT, FP.FR) increased 1.5% to $45.56. Weighing on the index again was BP Plc (BP, BP.LN). Chief Executive Tony Hayward has been asked to testify on Capitol Hill next week before a committee that has been scrutinizing the oil company's actions in the buildup to a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company's shares lost 5.7% to $34.68. Investec Securities raised its stock-investment rating on Reed Elsevier Plc (RUK, REL.LN) to buy from hold. "Shares are circa 11% since we initiated, and now provide 21% potential upside from current levels," it said. The brokerage added that while it is hard to see significant earnings upgrades resulting from the first-half results given the ongoing investment requirements, "we see limited scope for bad news and this in itself should be a positive for the shares." The stock ended 2% higher at $27.67. Zurich-based power and industrial automation company ABB Ltd. (ABB, ABBN.VX, ABB.SK) Tuesday extended a recent acquisition spree by launching a GBP890 million bid for Chloride Group PLC (CHLD.LN), potentially triggering a battle for the British company with Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) of the U.S. Separately, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded ABB by one notch, saying the company's performance is proving to be more resilient to the challenging market conditions than the ratings agency previously expected. Shares rose 2.8% to $16.73. The Latin-American index increased 2.3% to 338.07. Brazilian miner Vale SA (VALE, VALE5.BR) and the union representing striking workers at Vale's nickel operations in Ontario have adjourned strike talks and will reconvene June 19. Vale shares gained 2.7% to $25.41. Other Brazilian gainers included petrochemical company Braskem SA (BAK, BRKM5.BR), telecommunications company Vivo Participacoes SA (VIV, VIVO4.BR) and home builder Gafisa SA (GFA, GFSA3.BR). Braskem gained 7.9% to $12.42, while Vivo rose 4.7% to $27.19 and Gafisa closed up 4.2% at $11.68. The Asian index gained 1.9% to 114.65. The Chinese solar sector was mixed, with Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (YGE) up 3% to $8.66 while China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (CSUN) fell 2% to $3.44 and JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (JASO) lost 3.3% to $4.35. Jana Partners LLC said it bought 4.7 million shares, about a 7% stake, in Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (CRL) late last month and intends to vote against the company's planned $1.6 billion acquisition of WuXi PharmaTech (Caymen) Inc. (WX). In April, pharmaceutical-research company Charles River agreed to acquire WuXi, a Chinese research outsourcing firm, to gain a competitive advantage in the Chinese region. WuXi's shares fell 6.5% to $16.59. Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC, 2303.TW) said Tuesday its revenue rose 34.3% in May to NT$10.09 billion from NT$7.51 billion a year earlier. The company didn't give a reason for the increase in May revenue. Still, shares lost 4.3% to $2.87. The emerging-markets index closed 1.9% higher at 279.02. Profit margins at Russia's mobile operators are likely to remain under "significant pressure" as rival OAO Megafon competes aggressively for new subscribers, the Chief Executive of OAO Mobile TeleSystems (MBT, MTSS.RS) said Tuesday. The stock closed 1.3% lower at $18.59. Indian IT company Patni Computer Systems Ltd. (PTI, 532517.BY) said Tuesday it signed a pact with Japan's Kyushu Railway Co. to form a joint venture that will provide information technology and engineering services to Japanese companies. Shares fell 1.8% to $25.02. -By Caitlin Nish, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2076; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 08, 2010 17:01 ET (21:01 GMT)