ADR Report:Close Slightly Lower With Latin America, Asia Weighing

28th Jun 2010 22:01

By Victoria Finkle Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--International companies trading in New York closed slightly down Monday, on a late-day slump over worries that the Group of 20's pledge to slash budget deficits could impact global growth. The Bank of New York index of ADRs closed down 0.5% to 117.64. Mining companies closed largely lower as debate over a proposed industry super-profits tax in Australia continued. Anthony Hodge, the president of the International Council on Mining and Metals, advocated for compromise between mining companies and the government in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, saying that negotiations must be held as quickly as possible to end the current uncertainty for both miners and local communities. Shares of Australian miner BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU) closed down 1.9% at $66.71, and U.K.-based Rio Tinto PLC (RTP, RIO.LN) closed down 0.8% at $48.40. More news in the mining sector weighed down the Latin American index, which fell 1% to 352.80. Fabio de Oliveira Barbosa Monday left his position as executive director of finances at Brazilian mining and metals giant Vale SA (VALE, VALE5.BR), the company said in a filing. Shares of Vale fell 2.6% to $26.63. The South American telecom sector also closed down, with Brazil's largest telecom company Tele Norte Leste Participacoes SA (TNE, TNLP4.BR) down 1.1% at $15.64, and Argentina's Telecom Argentina SA (TEO, TECO2.BA) down 0.5% at $17.47. The European index slipped 0.2% to 105.93. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a landmark ruling that found the tobacco industry violated federal racketeering laws by engaging in a decades-long scheme to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking. Defendants in the case included Altria Group Inc.'s (MO) Philip Morris subsidiary, Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), British American Tobacco PLC (BTI, BATS.LN) and Lorillard Inc. (LO). Shares of British American Tobacco closed up 1% at $64.73. France-based utility group Veolia Environnement (VE, VIE.FR) said it would issue new bonds maturing January 2021. The company last week offered to exchange up to EUR1 billion ($1.23 billion) of its existing bonds for the new longer-dated notes, and launched a separate cash tender. Shares fell 1.6% to $24.94. The Asian index dropped 0.9% to 118.03. Posco (PKX, 005490.SE), the world's No. 4 steelmaker by output, said it will cut stainless steel product prices by up to 8.2% from July to help boost trade in the domestic market. The South Korean company's shares fell 2.3% to $101.13. The South Korean government will likely delay the announcement of its plan to divest its majority stake in Woori Finance Holdings Co. (WF, 05300.SE) as it has yet to finalize the specifics of the sale, government officials said. Shares rose 2.3% to $37.86. The emerging markets index slid 0.6% to 293.94. Goldman Sachs started coverage of the Chinese solar sector. The firm started JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (JASO) at buy based on its improving cash return and stronger-than-peer balance sheet. Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (YGE) and Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) was started at neutral, while ReneSola Ltd. (SOL, SOLA.LN) was started at sell. Shares of JA Solar climbed 2% to $4.87, while shares of Yingli fell 2% to $10.47, shares of Trina slipped 0.8% to $18.18, and shares of ReneSola dropped 1.5% to $5.91. -By Victoria Finkle, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3418; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 28, 2010 17:01 ET (21:01 GMT)