ADR Report: Shares End Lower Amid Worries About Greece, Fiscal Cliff

   By Anna Prior 
 

International companies trading in New York closed lower Thursday amid worries about delayed aid for Greece and concerns about U.S. politicians' ability to strike a budget deal.

The Bank of New York index of ADRs fell 1% to 124.40, as a report in Bloomberg News, citing a European Union official, said euro-area finance ministers may delay a decision to pay out Greece's next bailout installation until late November.

Meanwhile, the worries about the fiscal cliff in the U.S. overshadowed firm labor-market and export data.

The European index dropped 0.9% to 118.19, weighed down in part by financial stocks.

The U.K's Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LYG, LLOY.LN) fell 2.5% to $2.74, while the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS, RBS.LN) dropped 1.8% to $8.57. Germany's Deutsche Bank AG (DB, DBK.XE) also dropped 1.9% to $43.27 and Switzerland's Credit Suisse Group AG (CS, CSGN.VX ) was off 1.5% to $22.85.

Bucking the downward trend was Siemens AG (SI, SIE.XE), which rose 0.7% to $102.07, after the Germany-based industrial group said it would cut 6 billion euros ($7.67 billion) of costs by 2014.

The Asian index fell 0.9% to 118.74, as China's Communist Party kicked off its once-a-decade transition of power.

Although the aluminum industry is expected to improve next year as global economic recovery picks up, Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (ACH, 2600.HK, 601600.SH, K3HD.SG) President Xiong Weiping on Thursday warned of "tough times." The company last week reported it swung to a net loss of roughly $173 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, hit by sluggish global demand and falling prices. "The aluminum industry should recover [next year] but is going through a difficult period," Mr. Xiong told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of the Communist Party Congress in Beijing on Thursday. U.S.-listed shares fell 3% to $10.71.

Chinese solar companies also continued to slide following Wednesday's decision by a U.S. trade panel that could likely lead to tariffs on imported Chinese-made solar panels. Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL, K3KD.SG) fell 9.2% to $3.65, while LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (LDK) dropped 8.7% to 89 cents and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (YGE) fell 4.1% to $1.64.

The Latin American index declined 1.6% to 315.30 and the emerging markets index shed 1.3% to 275.65.

Brazilian petrochemicals company Braskem S/A (BAK, BRKM5.BR) said Thursday that it posted a third-quarter net loss on financial charges related to foreign-exchange exposure. Shares ended the U.S. trading day down 2% to $14.07.

Write to Anna Prior at [e-mail]