ADR Shares End Mostly Higher; BHP Billiton Shares Active

International stocks trading in New York closed mostly higher on Tuesday, with the Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts adding 0.2% to 155.51. The European index rose 0.2% to 151.22, the Asian index slipped 0.2% to 154.63, the Latin American index added 1% to 307.32 and the emerging markets index climbed 0.5% to 311.95. Among the companies with shares actively trading were BHP Billiton (BBL, BLT.LN, BHP, BHP.AU) and AstraZeneca PLC (AZN, AZN.LN).

Anglo-Australian mining company BHP Billiton said it would split off nickel, aluminum and other assets into a new company that could be valued at up to $12 billion, in what would be one of the biggest divestments of assets in mining history. BHP said the separate listing of the assets in an Australia-listed company would enable it to focus on producing iron ore, coal, copper and petroleum, which accounted for nearly all of its earnings last year. However, BHP's London-listed shares fell as investors took a dim view of the deal structure, under which they will be given stock in a company traded on a far-flung exchange and with assets mostly in Australia and southern Africa. Many had hoped BHP would use up to $5 billion to buy back its own shares after its profits rose 23% in the year through June. American depositary shares, meanwhile, fell 6.2% to $65.22.

The U.S. Department of Justice has closed a probe into AstraZeneca's drug Brilinta, removing a major cloud over the U.K. drug maker's outlook, the company said Tuesday. Shares edged up 0.3% to $70.52.

Shares of Chinese solar companies rose as the solar industry faces a shortage of photovoltaic panels, reversing a two-year slump that was triggered by oversupply. Bloomberg reported that scarcity will benefit the biggest manufacturers, including Yingli Green Energy Holdings Co. (YGE) and Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL, K3KD.SG). Yingli shares rose 5.6% to $3.77, while Trina shares rose 4.9% to $13.06. Also rising were JA Solar Holdings Co. (JASO), up 5.5% to $9.99, ReneSola Ltd. (SOL), up 4.9% to $2.79, Hanwha SolarOne Co. (HSOL), up 3.3% to $2.19, and JinkoSolar Holding Co. (JKS), up 2.3% to $28.01.

Write to Anna Prior at [e-mail]

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