ADRs End Lower; Aegon Falls

International stocks trading in New York closed lower on Thursday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts fell 1.5% to 129.95. The European index decreased 1.72% to 129.17, the Asian index dropped 0.98% to 139.74, the Latin American index declined 1.66% to 163.40 and the emerging markets index edged down 0.67% to 223.63. Aegon NV (AEG, AGN.AE) was among the companies with ADRs that traded actively.

ADRs of Aegon fell 11% to $5.45 after the Dutch insurer reported a slightly wider-than-expected third-quarter loss, which the company blamed on assumption changes, the continuing model refinement program and the anticipated book loss on the sale of its low-return business in Canada.

ADRs of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) fell 1.4% to $78.76 a day after the Chinese e-commerce giant reported a blockbuster $14.3 billion in sales for China's Singles' Day online shopping festival Wednesday, further highlighting the resilience of the Chinese consumer despite a flagging economy. The sales tally, which Alibaba posted early Thursday morning local time, was 54% higher than a year earlier and topped many analysts' estimates. Alibaba's Singles' Day sales add to a string of positive notes from China's consumer sector as the county's economy was showing further signs of weakening.

Investors continued to dump iron-ore miner BHP Billiton after the company says it was in a dispute with the tax office in the Australian state of Queensland over coal royalty payments. The news comes as Anglo-Australian company already is getting pounded by accelerated declines in commodity prices in recent days and a catastrophic dam breach at one of its joint-owned mines in Brazil. ADRs of BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU) fell 2.6% to $28.19 and BHP Billiton PLC (BBL, BLT.LN) declined 4.2% to $26.80.

Diageo PLC (DEO, DGE.LN) said it is overhauling its North American marketing operations and putting more emphasis on consumer research as it looks to reverse weak sales in its largest market. The British-based liquor company has lost market share in the U.S. as it struggles with brands like Smirnoff and Captain Morgan. ADRs fell $1.05 to $114.35.

The ADRs of NetEase Inc. (NTES, K3MD.SG) rose 2.2% to $153.34 a day after the Chinese gaming and Internet giant reported a sharply higher third-quarter profit. Revenue more than doubled, bolstered by game releases.

ADRs of Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR3.BR, PETR4.BR) fell 3.1% to $4.71 after Brazil's state-run oil firm reported a third-quarter net loss of 3.76 billion reais ($997 million), compared with a loss of 5.3 billion reais a year earlier, after a sharp fall in the Brazilian currency and sustained low oil prices.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 12, 2015 17:59 ET (22:59 GMT)

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