ADR Report: Shares Rise As Broader Market Gains Confidence

9th Jul 2010 22:03

By Adam Cancryn Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--International companies trading in New York closed higher Friday as the broader market posted gains and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished higher to cap its best week in nearly a year. The Bank of New York index of ADRs closed up 0.6% to 121.1. Material stocks were particularly strong, recovering from their underperformance during last week's slump. For instance, Australia-based miner Alumina Ltd. (AWC, AWC.AU), which dropped 8.8% last week, closed up 3.6% to $5.54. Another gainer in the material sector was Russian coal and steel group Mechel OAO (MTL, MTLR.RS), up 3.5% to $19.89. The Bank of Korea unexpectedly raised interest rates from record lows, surprising the markets. But the South Korean financial sector posted gains as investors viewed the change as a vote of confidence in the country's recovery. Woori Finance Holdings Co. (WF, 053000.SE) led the way, gaining 5.6% to $38, while KB Financial Group Inc. (KB, 105560.SE) and Shinhan Financial Group Co. (SHG, 055550.SE) also rose, 4.7% to $42.67 and 3.4% to $81.14, respectively. The European index edged up 0.3% to 109.96. India's state-owned iron ore producer NMDC Ltd. (526371.BY) said that it is still considering a joint venture with Luxembourg-based steel giant ArcelorMittal SA (MT, MT.AE, ACM-YY) in Senegal, but said the decision is complicated as the iron ore mine requires expensive infrastructure development. Shares of ArcelorMittal rose 1.9% to $30.26. BT Group Plc (BT, BT.A.LN) said it has reached a new pay deal with its biggest union after weeks of wrangling, ensuring the U.K. telecommunications firm's 23 year strike-free record remains intact. BT staff will receive a 3% annual pay increase from April 2010 to March 2013 with the rise being backdated to January 2010. BT gained 2.3% to $21.22. The Latin American index climbed 1.3% to 359.72. Members of Canada's United Steelworkers union at Vale SA's (VALE, VALE5.BR) Ontario nickel operations are expected to return to work within four to six weeks, following which the Brazilian miner will ramp back up to full capacity. Workers ratified new five-year collective-bargaining agreements, bringing to an end a strike that has lasted nearly a year. Vale ended up 2.3% to $26.31. The Asian index increased 1% to 119.78. Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (YGE) and its affiliates potentially could borrow up to 36 billion yuan ($5.31 billion) under an agreement with China Development Bank to support the solar-panel maker's expansion. Details of the agreement with China Development Bank--a former state-run policy bank that transformed itself into a shareholding lender--still need to be negotiated. Yingli increased 5.5% to $12.40. Chinese Internet company Baidu Inc. (BIDU) saw its shares slip after competitor Google Inc. (GOOG) said that its Internet license has been renewed in China. Baidu had been rising on the hopes Google would leave China. Shares of Baidu slid 1.7% to $71.20. The emerging-markets index gained 1.4% to 296.85. India's Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTE, 500108.BY) said it will buy Internet bandwidth for international traffic from Bharti Airtel Ltd.(532454.BY) and Tata Communications Ltd. (TCL, 500483.BY). Tata will sell 4,590 Mbps for Mahanagar's Delhi services and 3,000 Mbps for its Mumbai operations. Mahanagar's stock rose 2.6% to $2.81, while shares of Tata jumped 4.3% to $11.87. -By Adam Cancryn, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3261; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 09, 2010 17:03 ET (21:03 GMT)