International stocks trading in New York closed higher Thursday,
with the Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts
adding 0.6% to 151.30. The European index rose 0.5% to 152.06, the
Asian index climbed 0.6% to 144.49, the Latin American index jumped
2.4% to 260.93 and the emerging-market index rose 1.8% to 266.34.
Among the companies with shares that actively traded were Royal
Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS, RBS.LN) and Baidu Inc. (BIDU,
K3SD.SG).
RBS announced a plan to cut GBP5 billion ($8.34 billion) in
costs over the next four years as the state-controlled bank posted
its second-largest full-year net loss. Shares fell 6.2% to $11.
Baidu posted a slight fourth-quarter drop and warned investors
its profit won't grow this year either, as the Chinese Internet
search engine boosts efforts to capture more of the country's
surging mobile market. Shares rose 3.5% to $178.92.
Italian eyewear maker Luxottica Group SpA (LUX, LUX.MI) said its
net profit fell 65% to EUR25.9 million ($35.5 million) in the last
quarter of 2013 due to a tax audit that resulted in increased
charges of EUR26.7 million. Yet, the company's board proposed to
raise its dividend to EUR0.58 a share from EUR0.49 a share in the
previous year. Shares edged down 0.1% to $54.59.
Reed Elsevier PLC (RUK, REL.LN) on Thursday reported a rise in
full-year earnings and raised its dividend. The Anglo-Dutch
publishing and exhibitions group added that 2014 has also started
well. Shares added 2.1% to $61.95.
The European Commission has sent a formal complaint to
Telefonica SA (TEF, TEF.MC) over its EUR8.55 billion ($11.70
billion) bid for the German unit of Royal KPN NV, raising the
specter of tough regulatory obstacles to a much-anticipated wave of
consolidation in the European telecom sector. Shares fell 0.8% to
$15.36.
WPP PLC (WPPGY, WPP.LN) on Thursday became the latest firm to be
hit by turmoil in emerging-market currencies, which weighed on
profit margins and prompted a cautious outlook for the year ahead.
Shares of the advertising group fell 3% to $107.72.
Financial services company HSBC Holdings PLC's (HSBC, HSBA.LN)
HSBC Bank Middle East Limited on Thursday confirmed that it is in
talks with Meezan Bank Limited regarding the possible sale of its
operations in Pakistan, the unit said in a short statement. Shares
rose 1.9% to $53.27.
Eni SpA (E, ENI.MI), Italy's biggest energy company by market
value, Thursday said it signed an initial deal with Statoil ASA
(STO, STL.OS) on revisions to natural-gas supply contracts as it
seeks to lower purchasing costs. Eni shares fell 0.3% to $47.71,
while Statoil shares edged down 0.1% to $26.24.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com
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