ADRs Slightly Higher; Alibaba, BP and Novartis Trade Actively

International stocks trading in New York closed slightly higher Monday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts rose 0.4% to 155.23. The European index increased 0.2% to 142.72. The Asian index went up 0.9% to 186.12. The Latin American index dropped 0.5% to 254.46. And the emerging-markets index increased 0.6% to 338.07.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA), BP (BP) and Novartis AG (NVS) were among those with ADRs that traded actively.

Shares of Chinese internet names traded higher Monday after President Donald Trump tweeted his support for ZTE Corp., a Chinese smartphone maker that had been banned from buying U.S. components. Mr. Trump's interest in working with China to find relief for ZTE suggests a potential relaxation of trade-war tensions. ADRs of Alibaba rose 2.2% to $198.64.

U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips is considering selling its North Sea fields, including a 24% stake in the BP-operated Clair Field, Reuters reported. Conoco could get as much as $2 billion for the asset portfolio, which produced 750,000 barrels of oil a day in 2017, and has spoken to North Sea operators to assess interest in a sale. ADRs of BP rose 1.2% to $46.40.

Novartis's multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya has been approved for use in pediatric patients by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the company and the regulator said. The drug, previously approved for patients older than 18, is the first disease-modifying therapy indicated for individuals aged between 10 and 18. Friday's approval comes after a phase 3 clinical trial showed Gilenya reduced relapse rates by approximately 82% over two years compared with interferon injections, the FDA said. MS is mostly diagnosed in adults, although children and adolescents diagnosed with the disease tend to experience more frequent relapses. ADRs of Novartis rose 1% to $78.33.

Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 14, 2018 18:47 ET (22:47 GMT)

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