ADR Report: Shares Lower As European Financials Tumble

Apr 03, 2012

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--International companies trading in New York closed lower Tuesday, in line with the broader market, as financial stocks tumbled.

The Bank of New York index of ADRs fell 1.4% to 130.25 as Spanish and Italian bond yields surged on debt concerns, weighing on bank stocks in the region.

Shares of Spanish banks Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA, BBVA.MC) dropped 5.3% to $7.55 and Banco Santander SA (STD, SAN.MC) lost 4.9% to $7.36.

Other European financial institutions also traded down, with BNP Paribas SA (BNPQY) and Societe Generale SA (SCGLY) among the biggest decliners, off 3.6% at $22.86 and 3.8% at $5.55, respectively.

The European index dropped 1.6% to 119.27.

France Telecom SA (FTE, FTE.FR) confirmed that a police search was carried out Tuesday at the company as part of an investigation following a series of suicides of company employees in 2008 and 2009. In a statement, the company said that the search was related to an investigation opened by a Paris court in April 2010 following a complaint against unknown persons by the union Sud PTT. Shares of France Telecom traded down 2.8% to $14.53.

The Asian index shed 1.3% to 129.34.

Honda Motor Co.'s (HMC, 7267.TO) U.S. vehicle sales fell 5% in March as fewer car sales more than offset truck-sale gains. The results missed estimates from car-shopping website Edmunds.com, which expected Honda to post a jump of 4.3%. Honda's stock slipped 1.2% to $38.39.

The Latin American index declined 1% to 369.44.

Fitch Ratings cut the credit rating of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (GOL, GOLL4.BR), Brazil's second-biggest airline, on concerns about deteriorating cash flow. Shares of Gol traded down 1.5% to $6.52.

The emerging markets index lost 0.9% to 305.96.

Gold futures fell in after-market trading Tuesday after the latest Federal Open Market Committee minutes showed few hints of imminent monetary stimulus. The decrease in the price of gold weighed on gold miners, with shares of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU, ANG.JO) falling 2.4% to $36.03, shares of DRDGOLD Ltd. (DRD, DRD.JO) dropping 3.2% to $7.07 and Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI, GFI.JO) shedding 2.9% to $13.62.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 03, 2012 16:35 ET (20:35 GMT)