ADR Report: Shares Rise On Late Rally, Strengthening Euro

17th Jun 2010 22:29

By Victoria Finkle Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--International companies trading in New York closed higher, following a late-day rally as the strengthening euro offset disappointing manufacturing and jobs reports. The Bank of New York index of ADRs edged up 0.1% to 120.93. European financial companies were largely up, as bank investors and analysts saw the brighter side of U.K. government plans to radically overhaul banks' supervision and potentially restrict their activities, with major bank shares rising and analysts saying the proposals weren't as onerous as feared. Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN) rose 1.8% to $18.47 and Credit Suisse Group (CS, CSGN.VX) edged up 1% to $40.89. UBS AG (UBS, UBSN.VX) clinched approval from Swiss lawmakers to hand over thousands of pieces of confidential data to U.S. officials, prompting U.S. officials to call for the Swiss government to move quickly in transferring data on suspected tax offenders. Both the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Zurich-based UBS welcomed a vote from Switzerland's parliament earlier Thursday, which ends months of political wrangling in Switzerland and spares the August 2009 settlement between the U.S. and Swiss governments from being torpedoed by delays for a popular vote. UBS shares climbed 2.8% to $14.20. The European index rose 0.6% to 109.61. Elan Corp.'s (ELN, ELN.DB) big-selling multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, credited with reversing the fortunes of the Irish drug maker, faces a double-threat of MS competition from Novartis AG (NVS) and rising cases of a potentially fatal brain disease. Elan's partner Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) disclosed six more cases of the infection, bringing the total number of cases to 55 as of June 7. Elan's shares fell 1.8% to $4.95. U.S. lawmakers blasted BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) Chief Executive Tony Hayward at his first appearance before Congress since a deadly oil-rig explosion. Shares fell 0.4% to $31.71. The Latin American index dropped 0.8% to 120.14. Argentina's government on Thursday stepped in to run the country's biggest natural gas distribution company, MetroGas SA (MGS, METR.BA), after Metrogas said it doesn't have enough cash to make debt payments and filed for bankruptcy protection in a local court. Shares dropped 5.7% to $1.50. Brazil's oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR4.BR) is seeing some encouraging developments with the U.S. Senate's approval of a capitalization plan, but the company is also facing increased government intervention and higher leverage, Fitch Ratings director Jose Luis Villanueva said, speaking at a Brazil oil and gas conference in New York. That means "chances of a positive ratings action are lower than a negative ratings action," he adds. Shares slipped 0.8% to $38.24. The Asian index slid 0.5% to 358.70. Two work actions hit Toyota Motor Corp. (TM, 7203.TO) affiliated suppliers this week in the port city of Tianjin, and two Toyota executives warned that the company's assembly lines in China are vulnerable to further labor turmoil that might disrupt its vehicle production. The company also suffered a major setback in a key quality survey, with its Toyota brand dropping to No. 21 out of 33 brands in the 2010 J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality Study. Toyota's shares closed down 0.7% to $72.31. Woori Finance Holdings Co. (WF, 053000.SE) would be an ideal acquisition target for South Korean financial giant KB Financial Group Inc. (KB, 105560.SE), which needs to diversify, KB's incoming chairman said Thursday. Woori shares closed up 2.5% to $39.64, while KB Financial shares ended down 2.2% to $40.93. The emerging market index closed down 0.6% to 296.38. Shares of WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. (WX) took a hit after another top investor in Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (CRL) expressed opposition to the pending merger of the companies. WuXi shares fell 7.5% to $16.16. South African gold producer AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU, ANG.JO) has changed its project priority list in light of Australia's proposed Resources Super Profits Tax and expects South Africa may be able to benefit from the tax, the mining company's chief executive said Thursday. Shares ended up 2.6% to $44.80. -By Victoria Finkle, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3418; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 17, 2010 17:29 ET (21:29 GMT)