ADR Shares End Lower

International stocks trading in New York closed lower on Thursday, with the Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts down 0.54% to 153.76. The European index eased 0.41% to 154.07, the Asian index fell 0.57% to 143.04, the Latin American index dropped 1.5% to 293.56 and the emerging markets index declined 1% to 283.61. Among the companies with shares that actively traded was Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (GOL, GOLL4.BR).

Brazilian budget airline Gol reported a first-quarter loss due to an increase in costs, and the airline said it is planning more international flights to increase its foreign currency revenue. Shares rose 0.2% to $6.39.

Novartis AG (NVS, NOVN.VX) has managed to push back generic competition in the U.S. to its blockbuster leukemia drug Gleevec for about seven months. Financial terms of the Swiss drug maker's patent litigation settlement agreement with Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. weren't disclosed. Novartis shares rose 0.8% to $89.93.

Siemens AG (SI, SIE.XE) said it received an order valued at 1.5 billion euros ($2.06 billion) for wind turbines to power the largest Dutch offshore project to date. Shares of the German engineering conglomerate fell 1.2% to $132.66.

Nokia Corp. (NOK, NOK1V.HE) said that 5,000 employees at its factory in the southern Indian city of Chennai have opted for a severance package after Wednesday's deadline passed. The Helsinki-based company offered employees a severance option after Indian authorities excluded the factory from the sale of Nokia's handset business to Microsoft Corp. Nokia shares fell 0.3% to $7.26.

Barclays PLC's (BCS, BARC.LN) top Asia rainmaker, brought in to build out its regional investment banking business five years ago, is stepping down, the latest key executive to depart the U.K. lender's regional business. Shares fell 1.5% to $16.51.

AstraZeneca PLC (AZN, AZN.LN) said it is making progress in accelerating its late stage pipeline, as the U.K. pharmaceutical company issued its latest retort to Pfizer Inc.'s $106 billion bid. Shares rose 2.9% to $80.52.

Write to Anna Prior at [e-mail]

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