ADRs End Mostly Higher; Bradesco, Petrobras Rise

International stocks trading in New York closed mostly higher on Wednesday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts edged up 0.3% to 126.64. The European index eased 0.02% to 124.83, the Asian index rose 0.3% to 134.21, the Latin American index increased 3.7% to 183.07 and the emerging markets index advanced 1% to 235.00.

Banco Bradesco SA (BBD, BBDO, BBDC4.BR) and Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR3.BR, PETR4.BR) were among the companies with ADRs that traded actively.

As Brazil's antitrust agency clears Banco Bradesco's acquisition of HSBC Holdings PLC's (HSBC, HSBA.LN, 0005.HK) operations there, the approval includes a restriction blocking Bradesco from acquiring any other bank for 2 1/2 years. The $5.2 billion deal was announced in August and will be Bradesco's largest, in the process putting it on more-equal footing sizewise with the private sector's biggest lender, Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB, ITUB3.BR, ITUB4.BR). Bradesco's ADRs rose 5.7% to $7.40, HSBC edged down 4 cents to $32.49 and Itau rose 4% to $9.04.

Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, started the process of selling two natural-gas terminals, part of the Brazilian state-run oil company's effort to raise cash to reduce its huge debt. ADRs rose 11% to $7.15.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK, GSK.LN) said the Phase-3 study for sirukumab, a human antibody designed for patients with severely active rheumatoid arthritis, met its two most important targets, and added that it is on track to submit the regulatory applications in the third quarter. Glaxo ADRs fell 19 cents to $42.51.

Vale SA (VALE, VALE3.BR, VALE5.BR, VALE5.FR) raised $1.25 billion from an overseas bonds issue, reinforcing the return of Brazilian companies to the international debt market. The mining company's ADRs rose 5.2% to $5.05.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 08, 2016 18:07 ET (22:07 GMT)

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