ADRs End Mixed; Brazilian Companies Rally

International stocks trading in New York were mixed on Thursday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts edged down 0.02% to 124.60. The European index fell 0.17% to 125.70, the Asian index eased 0.02% to 129.45, the Latin American index rose 1.8% to 157.12 and the emerging markets index edged up 0.65% to 205.29. Brazilian companies with ADRs traded actively.

The Brazilian real strengthened against the dollar on Thursday, the first time in six sessions, after the president of the central bank said he is willing to use the country's foreign reserves to defend the currency. The real has been dropping against the dollar in recent days, pulled down by political turmoil and the country's economic troubles. Among Brazilian companies with ADRs whose shares rallied on Thursday, Banco Santander (Brasil) SA (BSBR, SANB3.BR, SANB4.BR, SANB11.BR) rose 4.8% to $3.27, Banco Bradesco SA (BBDO, BBD, BBDC4.BR) increased 12% to $6.36, Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (SID, CSNA3.BR) advanced nearly 5% to $1.04, Gerdau SA (GGB) strengthened by 7% to $1.53, Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB, ITUB3.BR, ITUB4.BR) rose 3.9% to $6.62, and GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (GOL, GOLL4.BR) increased nearly 4% to 92 cents.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC's (GSK, GSK.LN) new severe-asthma medicine has received a positive opinion from the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency for use in adults, clearing a key hurdle towards gaining marketing approval in Europe. If approved, the drug, called mepolizumab, would be the first in a new class known as anti-IL5s, and would be taken as a monthly injection on top of standard treatments. Glaxo ADRs fell four cents to $38.79.

Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY, RYA.DB) said it would distribute 398 million euros ($446 million) to shareholders from the proceeds of the sale of its stake in Aer Lingus Group PLC. ADRs of Europe's biggest budget airline fell 2.1% to $79.04.

A state-backed Chinese investment fund has bolstered the chances of an Arctic natural gas project in Russia moving forward despite U.S. sanctions, ccording to the chief executive of Total SA (TOT, FP.FR), the French oil giant involved in the project. Total's ADRs rose 31 cents to $44.19.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 24, 2015 17:39 ET (21:39 GMT)

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