ADR Report: Shares Higher As Financials Gain

Mar 13, 2012

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--International companies trading in New York closed sharply higher Tuesday, in line with the broader market, as investors breathed a sigh of relief that euro-zone finance ministers have agreed in principle to Greece's second bailout and were comforted by encouraging economic data from both sides of the Atlantic.

The Bank of New York index of ADRs jumped 2% to 132.62 with financials helping lead the gains, driven by data out of Germany that showed economic expectations rose sharply, beating market expectations. Glimpses of positive results from the U.S. Federal Reserve's stress test on some of the country's largest banks also helped the sector.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG, LLOY.LN) jumped 4.8% to $2.19, Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN) added 4.4% to $15.51 and HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC, HSBA.LN, 0005.HK) rose 4.1% to $45.36.

Credit Suisse Group AG (CS, CSGN.VX) and Deutsche Bank AG (DB, DBK.XE) also gained, ending up 5.2% to $27.67 and 4.4% to $49.05, respectively.

The European index gained 1.9% to 121.24.

Prudential PLC (PUK, PRU.LN, K6S.SG, 2378.HK) on Tuesday expressed confidence in their businesses in the coming year despite economic uncertainties, though it also warned about the possible negative impact of upcoming Europe-wide capital rules for insurers called Solvency II. Still, shares jumped 6.1% to $24.21.

The Latin American index jumped 3% to 378.87.

CPFL Energia (CPL, CPFE3.BR), Brazil's biggest non-state utility, said Tuesday it expects to invest 8.3 billion Brazilian reais ($4.6 billion) through 2016 to boost its distribution and generation capacity. Shares of CPFL Energia inched up 1% to $32.94.

The tally of Mexican mobile users switching carriers shows that consumers still overwhelmingly prefer market leader America Movil SAB de CV's (AMX, AMOV, AMX.MX) Telcel brand, while Telefonica SA's (TEF) Movistar is treading water and Iusacell continues to lose, said Morgan Stanley analyst Vera Rossi, citing phone regulator Cofetel's February number portability figures. America Movil shares rose 3.1% to $23.97.

The Asian index climbed 2.1% to 131.56 and the emerging markets index climbed 2.6% to 314.94.

Infosys Ltd. (INFY, 500209.BY) expects technology spending by the life-sciences sector and on software platforms to rise in 2012, even as budgets in most of the other business divisions remain under duress in a tough economic environment. Shares of Infosys rose 2.4% to $58.95.

-By Corrie Driebusch, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2143; corrie.driebusch@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 13, 2012 17:04 ET (21:04 GMT)