ADR Shares End Mixed; Unilever Rises

International stocks trading in New York were mixed on Thursday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts edged up 0.2% to 148.77. The European index eased 0.08% to 145.41, the Asian index improved 0.8% to 158.17, the Latin American index rose 0.3% to 227.55 and the emerging markets index increased 0.4% to 275.57. Unilever PLC (UL, ULVR.LN) was among the companies with ADRs that traded actively.

Unilever reported that the strong U.S. dollar and a shift into more premium products helped it post a big rise in first-quarter sales. Unlike their U.S. rivals, many of Europe's biggest companies are cheering the recent surge in the dollar. In total, the maker of Dove soap and Axe deodorant said currency movements boosted sales by 10.6% in the first three months of 2015. ADRs rose 3.8% to $45.06.

ADRs of Total SA (TOT, FP.FR) fell 16 cents to $53.20 after the French oil giant on Thursday launched plans in response to the crisis in European refining by investing 600 million euros ($636 million) in two refineries and cutting 180 jobs at one of those sites.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM, 2330.TW) projected lower second-quarter revenue, citing escalating competition, tapering smartphone demand from emerging markets and a strengthening Taiwan dollar. Sales at TSMC are seen as a barometer of global technology demand since the company is the world's largest maker of non-memory microprocessors based on others' designs. ADRs of the iPhone chip maker fell 1.2% to $23.24.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

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