By Anna Prior
International companies trading in New York closed mostly higher
Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a statement from the Federal
Reserve, expected Wednesday.
The Bank of New York index of ADRs rose 0.3% to 150.60.
Investors are looking ahead to a statement from the Fed on
Wednesday following the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the
central bank's policy-setting committee, according to The Wall
Street Journal. The Fed is widely expected to keep stimulus
measures, including its $85 billion-a-month bond-purchasing
program, intact.
Meanwhile, in mixed bag of data reports were released in the
U.S., with business inventories for August rising 0.3%, in line
with expectations, while the October consumer confidence index fell
more than expected. Retail sales for September unexpectedly
declined 0.1% from August.
The European index rose 0.2% to 145.98.
BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) Tuesday reported a 33.6% decline in
third-quarter net profit from a year earlier, largely on lower
refining margins, but also announced a series of measures aimed at
pleasing investors. The British oil giant set a dividend boost and
announced a plan to sell $10 billion in assets by the end of 2015,
saying it would use the proceeds for "additional distributions to
shareholders," including share buybacks. Shares rose 5% to
$45.90.
However, it was a rough day for Europe's banks as Switzerland's
UBS AG (UBS, UBSN.VX) said it has taken action against staff in
connection with an investigation into possible manipulation of
foreign-exchange markets. Despite the bank reporting third-quarter
profit that topped analyst expectations, shares tumbled 8.1% to
$19.65.
Meanwhile in London, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG, LLOY.LN)
said its third-quarter loss widened. Shares fell 4.3% to $5.10.
The Asian index added 0.6% to 150.27.
Chinese solar stocks added to gains, with JinkoSolar Holding Co.
(JKS) rising 11% to $22.39, Hanwha SolarOne Co. (HSOL) up 7.5% to
$4.38, ReneSola Ltd. (SOL) up 10% to $4.57, and China Sunergy Co.
(CSUN) rising 6.4% to $7.60.
The U.S. federal government is set to slap Infosys Ltd. (INFY,
500209.BY) with the largest immigration fine ever, claiming the
Indian outsourcing giant illegally placed workers on visitor,
rather than work, visas at big corporate clients across the U.S.
The government is expected to announce Wednesday it will fine
Infosys about $35 million, according to a report in The Wall Street
Journal citing people close to the matter. Still, shares edged up
0.4% to $54.11
The Latin American index was essentially flat at 305.84 and the
emerging markets index added 0.6% to 286.38.
Brazil's second-largest bank by assets Itau Unibanco Holding SA
(ITUB, ITUB3.BR, ITUB4.BR) Tuesday said that third-quarter net
profit rose 19%, as a rise in revenue and lower provisions combined
to offset modest loan growth. Shares rose 3.5% to $15.81.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com