ADR Shares End Lower; Unilever Shares Active

International stocks trading in New York closed lower Monday, with the Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts falling 1.7% to 148.67. The European index dropped 2% to 149.42, the Asian index fell 1.1% to 142.30, the Latin American index declined 1.6% to 254.04 and the emerging-markets index fell 1.2% to 261.21. Among the companies with shares that actively traded was Unilever PLC (UL, ULVR.LN).

Unilever is ready to sell its Ragu pasta-sauce brand for around $2 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal which cited two people familiar with the situation, as the consumer-goods company continues to pare its food business. The company has enlisted Morgan Stanley to help with the sale, according to one of the people. The timing of any potential deal was unclear, as were the entities Unilever might approach as buyers. Shares fell 1.9% to $40.24.

Bank of Ireland PLC (IRE), the country's dominant lender, Monday posted a much smaller loss for 2013 and said it is again making sustainable profits this year for the first time since the financial crisis struck in 2008. Shares still fell 1.3% to $21.33.

Write to Anna Prior at [e-mail]

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