International stocks trading in New York closed lower on
Tuesday. The Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts
fell 0.54% to 155.14. The European index decreased 0.18% to 150.98,
the Asian index dropped 1% to 153.8, the Latin American index fell
1.85% to 307.82 and the emerging markets index declined 1.36% to
314.16. Among the companies with shares that actively traded was
Novo Nordisk AS (NVO, NOVO-B.KO).
Novo Nordisk received a favorable view from a U.S. Food and Drug
Administration advisory committee on its diabetes drug
Saxenda--which the the Danish pharmaceutical company wants to
market as an anti-obesity treatment. The panel concluded Saxenda
was effective for weight loss, while citing potential high blood
pressure and pancreatitis risk. Shares rose 2.3% to $45.82.
Some stocks with the greatest exposure to Scotland remained
under pressure Tuesday as investors weighed the possibility that
Scottish voters vote for independence Sept. 18. Prudential
Prudential PLC (PUK, PRU.LN) shares fell 44 cents to $46.15.
However both Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS, RBS.LN) and
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG, LLOY.LN)--which have fallen
relatively sharply in recent sessions--rose as some investors saw
an investment opportunity. RBS rose six cents to $11.07 and Lloyds
increased 1.5% to $4.77.
ABB Ltd. (ABB, ABBN.VX, ABB.SK) plans to buy back up to $4
billion of its own shares as recently appointed Chief Executive
Ulrich Spiesshofer tries to restore investor confidence in the
world's largest maker of power grids, which has struggled with a
slump in demand for conventional power equipment in Europe. The
Swiss engineering group also laid out new medium-term revenue and
profitability targets that are less ambitious than those it had set
out in 2011 under previous CEO Joe Hogan. Shares rose 17 cents to
$23.08.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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