ADR Report: Shares Up Despite France, Greece Election Outcomes

May 07, 2012

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--International companies trading in New York closed higher Monday, in line with the broader market, as some positive earnings reports helped offset investor jitters that the election outcomes in France and could impede Europe's ability to deal with its debt problems.

The Bank of New York index of ADRs climbed 0.6% to 124.17.

BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR, BNPQY), France's largest bank by market value, reported a net profit of 2.87 billion euros ($3.77 billion) in the first quarter, up from 2.62 billion euros a year earlier, beating analyst forecasts. Shares gained 4.2% to $19.84.

Luxottica SpA (LUX, LUX.MI) said Monday its net profit rose 14% in the first quarter as it posted double-digit sales growth. Luxottica's stock ended up 2.4% at $37.41.

The European index rose 0.7% to 114.19.

A Spanish finance ministry official said the government is preparing a cleanup plan for Bankia SA (BKIA.MC) and its parent company Banco Financiero y de Ahorros SA, which could include a shake-up of their management. Spanish daily El Pais said the government could inject up to EUR10 billion in the troubled lender.

Shares of other Spanish banks ended Monday higher, with Banco Santander SA (STD, SAN.MC) rising 3.6% to $6.39 and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA, BBVA.MC) gaining 5.3% to $6.91.

The Asian index added 0.1% to 123.35.

KT Corp. (KT, 030200.SE) said Monday its first-quarter net profit fell by a lower-than-expected 27%, largely because of lower mobile phone fees and spending on next-generation network technology. But the fixed-line operator's average revenue per user--a key performance metric for telecom operators--is expected to rise in tandem with the rollout of its long-term evolution, or LTE, network services. Shares climbed 7.7% to $13.50.

The Latin American index gained 1% to 344.75 and the emerging markets index ended 0.5% higher at 291.24.

Mexico's antitrust commission said Thursday it has repealed an 11.99-billion-peso ($925 million) fine against America Movil SAB de CV (AMX, AMOV, AMX.MX) unit Telcel after the company agreed to continue lowering mobile interconnection rates and take other measures to ensure its large network isn't used to sideline competition. Shares of America Movil jumped 4.5% to $28.25.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 07, 2012 17:10 ET (21:10 GMT)