ADR Shares End Mixed; Telefonica, Veolia Environnement Shares Trade Actively

International stocks trading in New York were mixed on Wednesday. The Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts rose 0.21% to 158.52. The European index increased 0.2% to 157.63, the Asian index rose 0.41% to 152.71, the Latin American index fell 0.26% to 289.80 and the emerging markets index rose 0.29% to 293.52. Among the companies with shares that actively traded were Telefonica SA (TEF, TEF.MC) and Veolia Environnement SA (VE, VIE.FR).

European Union antitrust authorities gave conditional approval to Telefonica SA's 8.6 billion euro ($11.7 billion) takeover of German mobile operator E-Plus on Wednesday, after a lengthy review marked by political pressure and an unprecedented revolt by national regulators. The merger is seen by investors as a test case for how EU authorities will treat further deals in Europe's rapidly consolidating telecoms sector. Telefonica shares fell 1% to $17.06.

Morgan Stanley downgraded Veolia Environnement to equalweight from overweight as the stock has now rerated. However, the firm also said water and waste are "structurally growing industries," in which the group is well positioned. Further, Morgan Stanley sees material cyclical upside in waste management and also believes Veolia "boasts of the most ambitious restructuring programme in the sector." Shares fell 3.1% to $18.67.

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU, ALU.FR) shares rose 4% to $3.67 after the French telecom company was raised to overweight from neutral by J.P. MorganCazenove.

China Eastern Airlines Corp. (CEA, 600115.SH, 0670.HK) plans to convert one of its units into a low-cost airline, becoming the first Chinese state-run carrier to enter Asia's booming budget-airline market after Beijing's move to liberalize its aviation sector. Shares rose 0.3% to $15.32.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP, 600028.SH, 0386.HK) is establishing a new subsidiary to house its lubricants business as part of an effort to bring private capital into the division. The move comes as the state-controlled company, known as Sinopec, attempts to restructure its operations following a landmark reform blueprint that Chinese leaders issued late last year. The lubricants business, one of the fastest-growing industries in China's energy sector, is being driven by the rapid growth of automobile purchases. Shares rose 1% to $95.75.

After months of round-robin talks among France's main mobile operators, Orange SA (ORAN, ORA.FR) said Wednesday that it is throwing in the towel on talks over a potential deal because its conditions haven't been met. The disclosure pours cold water, at least temporarily, on talks among French telecom companies about how to reduce the number of mobile operators from four to three, aiming to ease a price war that has engulfed France for 2 1/2 years. Orange shares fell 3.7% to $15.54.

UGI Corp. said its French subsidiary reached a preliminary deal to acquire the liquefied-petroleum-gas unit of Total SA (TOT, FP.FR) in France for roughly 400 million euros to 450 million euros ($547 million to $615 million). Total is aiming to sell $15 billion to $20 billion of noncore or mature assets by 2015 as part of a program to improve its cash flow and profitability, after several years of massive investments for exploration and production projects. Total shares fell 0.6% to $72.32.

Vodafone PLC (VOD) and Ireland's Electricity Supply Board, a part state-owned utility, have formed a joint venture to invest 450 million euros ($614.6 million) to build a new fiber-broadband network that will give people outside big cities access to speedy Internet connections. The equally owned Irish government-backed joint venture will start installing the new network across Ireland in the coming months. Vodafone shares fell 0.2% to $33.45.

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