ADRs End Mostly Down; Carnival, Gold Companies Trade Actively

International stocks trading in New York closed mostly lower on Thursday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts declined 0.3%, to 127.54. The European index decreased 0.2%, to 118.09. The Asian index fell 0.7%, to 148.73. The emerging-markets index declined 0.2%, to 272.82.

Meanwhile, the Latin American index rose 1%, to 222.30.

Carnival PLC (CUK) and gold companies were among those with ADRs that traded actively.

Carnival on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue that topped expectations but gave a downbeat earnings outlook amid higher fuel prices and currency fluctuations. ADRs fell 10%, to $49.06.

Novartis AG (NVS) has made an offer to acquire France's CellforCure from LFB Group in an effort to expand manufacturing capacity for innovative cell and gene therapies. The Swiss company said the proposed acquisition builds on an existing agreement with CellforCure for contract manufacturing of Novartis's CAR-T cell therapy Kymriah and the recent transfer of technology. ADRs fell 0.3%, to $84.23.

The European Commission alleged Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) and three other global banks colluded to manipulate a multi-trillion-dollar government-backed bond market, escalating a long running probe. The European Union's executive arm, which opened the investigation almost three years ago, said in a statement Thursday that banks will now lay out their defenses. If found guilty, the banks could face a fine of up to 10% of their annual world-wide revenue. The commission didn't name the banks, but Credit Suisse and two other banks confirmed they were among the four. Credit Suisse's ADRs fell 1.8%, to $10.53.

Gold prices rose to their highest level since July, helped by a weaker U.S. dollar and signals from the Federal Reserve that rate hikes in 2019 could be done more gradually. Among the gold mining companies that traded actively Thursday were Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI), up 9%, to $3.42; AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU), up 4% to $12.27; and Randgold Resources Ltd. (GOLD), up 4.2%, to $84.18.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 20, 2018 18:58 ET (23:58 GMT)

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