International stocks trading in New York closed higher on
Thursday. The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts rose
2.1% to 140.74. The European index increased 2.3% to 139.85, the
Asian index improved 1.5% to 141.90, the Latin American index rose
2.3% to 227.15 and the emerging markets index increased 2.2% to
261.95. Among the companies with shares that actively traded was
ABB Ltd. (ABB, ABBN.VX, ABB.SK).
ABB Ltd. (ABB, ABBN.VX, ABB.SK) said Thursday it was proposing
the former chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell PLC as its next
chairman, a move that comes as the power and technology giant
embarks on a new five-year strategy. Shares rose 1.8% to
$21.22.
Oil major Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSA.LN) said Thursday it
is selling its retail, commercial fuels and supply and distribution
logistics businesses in Norway to ST1 for an undisclosed sum.
Separately, BASF SE (BASFY, BAS.XE) said it is selling its 50%
stake in a Singapore chemicals joint venture, ELLBA Eastern, to
Shell. The deals come as the oil major tries to emphasize
downstream projects using cheap natural gas while getting out of
businesses with less profit potential. Shell shares rose 1.3% to
$66.54.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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