International stocks trading in New York closed lower on
Wednesday.
The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts fell 2.2%
to 137.33. The European index decreased 1.5% to 136.40, the Asian
index dropped 3.7% to 143.20, the Latin American index fell 2.3% to
202.08 and the emerging markets index declined 3.1% to 240.25.
National Bank of Greece SA (NBG) was among the companies with ADRs
that traded actively.
Greece took a first step toward addressing demands that eurozone
leaders say it must meet to stay in the euro, as pressure grew on
both sides to reach a deal and avert the country's imminent
financial meltdown. ADRs of National Bank of Greece fell 7.4% to 88
cents.
The Chinese government struggled Wednesday to prevent distress
in the country's stock markets from spreading as it openly fought
market forces it has pledged to give a larger role. Early
Wednesday, the Chinese authorities rushed out another raft of
emergency measures to halt what is turning into a crisis of
confidence in leaders' ability to steer the economy. Among the
decliners, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co. (SHI, K3DD.SG,
600688.SH, 0338.HK) slid 15% to $33.09 and China Mobile Ltd. (CHL,
K3PD.SG, 0941.HK) declined 5.4% to $57.72.
ADRs of mining companies declined as concerns that China's
economic growth has cooled were exacerbated by the declines in its
stock market. Rio Tinto PLC (RIO, RIO.LN, RIO.AU) fell 3.9% to
$38.17, BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU) dropped 4.1% to $37.39, BHP
Billiton PLC (BBL, BLT.LN) fell 4% to $36.38 and Vedanta Ltd.
(VEDL, 500295.BY) fell 12% to $8.70.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) has invested more than $100
million in Mei.com, a Shanghai-based online shopping company that
focuses on luxury items, in the e-commerce major's latest effort to
tap growing Chinese demand for high-end brands, The Wall Street
Journal reported. Alibaba disclosed its latest investment in a
statement earlier Wednesday without providing financial terms. ADRs
fell 2.1% to $77.94.
Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN) Chief Executive Antony Jenkins was
ousted from the bank Wednesday after its board decided fresh blood
is needed after three lackluster years with Mr. Jenkins at the
helm. ADRs fell 1.3% to $15.79.
ADRs of Tata Motors Ltd. (TTM, 500570.BY) fell 6.8% to $30.82 as
the selloff in stock markets in China compounded concerns for
investors in the parent of Jaguar Land Rover. Demand for luxury
cars already has been slowing in China, which is now the
single-largest market for Jaguar Land Rover cars. Several
brokerages have already raised red flags on Tata Motors as it gets
bulk of its earnings from Jaguar Land Rover.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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