ADR Report: Shares End Lower on Europe, U.S. Growth Concerns

Jun 08, 2012

International companies trading in New York closed lower Friday as a lack of further immediate action by central banks to encourage economic growth disappointed investors.

The Bank of New York index of ADRs slipped 0.2% to 113.71 as oil prices tumbled and most metals prices were off on concerns over economic growth in the U.S. and Europe.

Some mining companies declined, including Rio Tinto PLC (RIO, RIO.LN), off 4.1% at $44.65, Mechel OAO (MTL, MTLR.RS), down 2.7% to $5.68, and Vale SA (VALE, VALE3.BR, VALE5.BR, VALE5.FR), off 2.1% at $18.84.

Energy companies also fell as oil prices neared eight-month lows Friday, with CNOOC Ltd. (CEO, S0883.HK) off 1.4% at $180.56 and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co. (SHI, K3DD.SG, 600688.SH, 0338.HK) off 2.3% at $28.26.

The Asian index declined 0.9% to 112.54.

Olympus Corp. (OCPNY, 7733.TO) said Friday it will cut its global workforce by around 7% in two years and streamline non-core operations to bolster its finances following a $1.5 billion accounting scandal that has left it with a razor-thin capital cushion. Shares of the Japanese maker of cameras and medical-imaging equipment fell 3.9% to $16.40.

For the third time since March, the country's securities watchdog has called for a fine in a case of insider trading tied to stock offerings managed by Nomura Holdings Inc. (NMR, 8604.TO) unit Nomura Securities Co., whose internal controls are the focus of an ongoing investigation, the Nikkei reported in its Saturday morning edition.

Shares of Nomura closed down 1.2% at $3.36.

The Latin American index fell 1% to 305.85, and the emerging markets index shed 0.8% to 261.53.

Shares of Brazilian banks lost ground. Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB, ITUB3.BR, ITUB4.BR) shed 2.6% to $14.16 and Banco Bradesco SA (BBD, BBDO, BBDC4.BR) dropped 1.8% to $14.75.

The European index edged up 0.2% to 105.14 as Spanish stocked rallied after reports surfaced that Spain could seek aid from the European Union as early as Saturday.

Shares of banks Banco Santander SA (STD, SAN.MC) rose 2.9% to $6.11 and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA) climbed 1.7% to $6.46.

Other Spanish companies also traded up, including Telefonica SA (TEF, TEF.MC), whose stock gained 3.8% to $12.26.

Write to Corrie Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 08, 2012 17:07 ET (21:07 GMT)