ADRs End Slightly Lower; Airmedia Group, BP Trade Actively

International stocks trading in New York closed slightly lower on Tuesday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts dropped 0.1% to 160.82. The European index decreased 0.2% to 148.00. The Asian index decreased 0.2% to 191.91. The Latin American index increased 0.4% to 266.14. And the emerging-markets index dropped 0.01% to 345.51.

AirMedia Group Inc. (AMCN), BP Plc (BP) and Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB de CV (VLRS) were among those with ADRs that traded actively.

China-based AirMedia announced Tuesday the company will transform from a traditional airport advertising company to an aviation and railway, long-haul bus Internet services company, focusing on providing Internet services for passengers of airlines, railways, and long-haul buses. The Company, through its subsidiary AirMedia Online Group, set up a joint venture, called Unicom AirMedia (Beijing) Network Co. Ltd., with China Unicom and another investor, to build a global network for aeronautical communication, and provide in-flight internet and other services. ADRs of AirMedia rose 9.9% to $1.33.

British oil giant BP said Tuesday it would take a $1.7 billion charge in 2018 because of settlement claims related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The charge adds to a disaster bill that BP last estimated at over $63 billion, a toll that continues to mount years after the company reached a $20 billion settlement in 2015 with the U.S. government. The 2010 Gulf of Mexico explosion killed 11 people and unleashed the worst offshore oil spill in American history. ADRs of BP dropped 3.3% to $42.46.

Mexico-based Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion's Volaris and Denver-based Frontier Airlines announced Tuesday a planned code share, a rarity in the low-cost airline sector where such marketing deals are mainly viewed as adding an expensive layer of complexity. The two have ties through Indigo Partners' ownership of Frontier and investment in Volaris, and together with the private equity group's two other portfolio airlines last year agreed to a joint 430-jet deal with Airbus. ADRs of Volaris were up 8.3% to $8.70.

Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 16, 2018 17:45 ET (22:45 GMT)

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