By Anna Prior
International companies trading in New York closed mixed Friday
after a disappointing U.S. jobs report.
The Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts
dropped 0.2% to 134.05.
The employment report, which widely missed expectations, showed
that employers added 88,000 jobs in March, compared to the gain of
200,000 that was expected. The unemployment rate fell one-tenth of
a percentage point to 7.6% but that was largely due to people
dropping out of the work force.
Meanwhile, data showed retail sales fell in the euro zone, and
shares of Asian companies saw weakness amid reports of deaths in
China linked to a new strain of bird flu, and escalating military
threats from North Korea.
The European index fell 0.4% to 125.87.
UBS slightly lowered its target price for Nokia Corp. (NOK,
NOK1V.HE) while keeping a neutral rating, saying that it now sees a
tougher scenario for the Finnish handset maker in the feature phone
market as the segment is being targeted by Samsung Electronics Co.
(SSNHY, 005930.SE) while Nokia's lower-cost Asha devices are being
affected by the rapid emergence of Android smart devices in the
$50-$100 average selling range. Shares fell 1.2% to $3.34.
The Asian index declined 0.3% to 135.54.
Worries that an outbreak of a new bird-flu strain in China will
stifle domestic air travel demand sent shares of the nation's
airlines falling sharply Friday, triggering a broader selloff in
airline and travel stocks world-wide. Guangzhou-based China
Southern Airlines Co. (ZNH, 1055.HK, 600029.SH, K3TD.SG), which
deploys nearly 80% of its capacity on the domestic market, fell
7.2% to $25.06. Meanwhile, Shanghai-based China Eastern Airline
Corp. (CEA, 0670.HK, 600115.SH, K3CD.SG) dropped 6.7% to
$20.03.
Other tourism-related stocks in Asia also fell sharply on the
flu concerns. Guangshen Railway Co. (GSH, 0525.HK, 601333.SH),
which provides passenger and freight services in China, dropped
4.4% to $22.29 in New York trading.
The Latin American index rose 1% to 322.38 and the
emerging-markets index edged down 0.1% to 275.66.
Shares of Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del
Centro Norte SAB (OMAB, OMA.MX) rose 1.5% to $34.35. The company
late Thursday said that terminal passenger traffic at its 13
airports increased 6.6% in March compared to the year-ago period.
Domestic traffic increased 7%, while international traffic was up
4.7%.
However, Brazilian low-cost airline Gol Linhas Aereas
Inteligentes SA (GOL, GOLL4.BR), which had its credit rating cut by
Fitch earlier in the week, continued its slide on Friday. Gol,
which Fitch said suffered from "poor operational results and the
expectation of limited recovery in the company's cash flow
generation during 2013," lost 2% to $5.32.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@dowjones.com