International stocks trading in New York closed lower on
Thursday.
The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts fell 1.07%
to 149.03. The European index edged down 0.79% to 145.26, the Asian
index dropped 1.71% to 158.63, the Latin American index eased 0.86%
to 232.41 and the emerging markets index declined 1.51% to 278.05.
Baidu Inc. (BIDU, K3SD.SG) and Nokia Corp. (NOK, NOK1V.HE) were
among the companies with ADRs that traded actively.
Baidu fell 8.6% to $200.28 a day after the Chinese search-engine
giant issued soft sales guidance for the current quarter, as profit
fell in the latest period amid flat numbers for its online
marketing customers.
Nokia declined 12% to $6.58 after the Finnish company reported
that its mainstay network business delivered unsatisfactory profits
during the first quarter.
HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC, HSBA.LN, 0005.HK) has hired advisers to
pitch a large chunk of its Brazilian unit to prospective buyers,
The Wall Street Journal reported. The bank hired Goldman Sachs to
gauge the interest of local lenders including banking giants Banco
Bradesco SA (BBDO, BBD, BBDC4.BR) and Banco Santander SA (SAN,
SAN.MC) for most of its Brazil unit, The Journal reported. HSBC
runs the seventh-largest bank in Brazil with a 2.7% market share,
in terms of assets. HSBC's ADRs fell 1.1% to $49.63, Banco
Bradesco's ADRs rose 5.8% to $10.56 and Banco Santander's ADRs rose
three cents to $7.52.
ADRs of Novo Nordisk AS (NVO, NOVO-B.KO) rose 1.2% to $56.27
after the world's biggest maker of insulin raised its 2015
financial guidance, reported a strong rise in quarterly profit and
said Chief Executive Lars Rebien Sorensen will remain at the helm
until his contract expires in 2019.
ADRs of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS, RBS.LN) fell 4.8%
to $10.34 after the bank, which is 80% owned by the U.K.
government, said it swung to a loss in the first three months of
the year, hit by a wave of restructuring and litigation
charges.
ADRs of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSA.LN) fell seven cents
to $63.43 after the oil company reported a 7% rise in first-quarter
profit but a drop in production and a steep fall in revenue
underscored the turmoil that low crude prices have spurred in the
sector.
ADRs of Sanofi SA (SNY) fell 1.3% to $50.55 after the French
drug maker warned that revenue in its all-important diabetes
business would fall this year because of pricing pressure in the
U.S. on its top-selling medicine Lantus.
Shire PLC (SHPG, SHP.LN) said it has appointed investor
relations head Jeff Poulton as chief financial officer, bringing to
an end a search that has lasted more than a year. Shire also
reported that first-quarter earnings rose 21% on stronger revenue
as its hyperactivity pill was introduced for a new use -- treating
a binge-eating disorder -- and sales improved for its treatments
for hereditary angioedema, a rare and potentially life-threatening
condition. ADRs fell $1.75 to $243.51.
ADRs of Statoil ASA (STO, STL.OS) rose 3.7% to $21.23 after the
chief executive of Norway's oil and gas producer said rising price
uncertainty led the company to write down the value of its U.S.
assets. The write-downs contributed to Statoil's third quarterly
net loss in a row. However, Statoil's underlying earnings beat
expectations after stripping out such one-time items.
ADRs of Vale SA (VALE, VALE3.BR, VALE5.BR, VALE5.FR) rose 5.8%
to $7.68 after the world's largest iron-ore producer gave the
strongest signals yet Thursday that it could temper output in the
face of an oversupplied global market. During the first quarter,
the Brazilian mining company set a record for iron-ore production
but sold it at roughly half of last year's prices, contributing to
a substantial deterioration of profit margins and revenue. The
company also pushed back the timeline of a possible initial public
offering of its base-metals division after an expected rebound in
nickel prices failed to materialize.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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