ADR Shares End Mostly Higher; InterContinental Hotels, RBS Shares Active

International stocks trading in New York closed mostly higher on Friday, with the Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts rising 0.2% to 154.23. The European index slipped 0.2% to 155.16, the Asian index added 0.5% to 142.35, the Latin American index rose 2.2% to 291.17 and the emerging markets index climbed 1.1% to 280.26. Among the companies with shares that actively traded were InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG, IHG.LN) and Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS, RBS.LN).

Shares in InterContinental rose after it announced a $750 million special dividend and said it could move to sell more hotels. The company posted strong sales growth in the first three months of 2013. Shares of the U.K.-based hotel operator, whose brands include Crown Plaza and Holiday Inn, rose 7.6% to $36.90.

Investors hailed Royal Bank of Scotland's best quarterly results since 2007, sending shares higher after the bank reported a surge in net profit. The 80% government-owned bank's results were bolstered by a 65% fall in bad debts across its loan book as the British economy continued to improve. Shares rose 7.9% to $11.21.

Brazilian state-run energy group Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR3.BR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, reported a slight increase in oil production for March, despite the temporary shutdown of a major platform. Shares jumped 6.2% to $14.61.

AstraZeneca PLC (AZN, AZN.LN) on Friday rejected an improved takeover offer from Pfizer Inc. (PFE) worth more than $106 billion, saying the proposal substantially undervalued the company and putting the onus back on Pfizer Chief Executive Ian Read to either raise his bid again, go directly to shareholders, or walk away. AstraZeneca shares edged down 0.1% to $81.02.

Norway's Statoil ASA (STO, STL.OS) said Friday a drilling campaign around the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea had discovered less oil than expected, and that it is considering cheaper infrastructure options. Shares edged up 0.6% to $30.66.

HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC, HSBA.LN, 0005.HK) is rejiggering the structure at the head of its investment bank to better cover the different regions in which it operates, according to an internal memo seen by The Wall Street Journal. Shares edged down 0.4% to $51.07.

Deutsche Bank AG (DB, DBK.XE) is asking U.S. clients of its operations in Belgium to close their accounts with the German banking giant and transfer them to rivals in a move to comply with new U.S. rules. Shares slipped 0.9% to $43.80.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG, LLOY.LN) announced the retirement of Deputy Chairman David Roberts and said it has decided to appoint Anita Frew as deputy chairman. Shares rose 1.5% to $5.53.

Write to Anna Prior at [e-mail]

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