ADR Report: Shares Lower As European Banks Weigh

International companies trading in New York closed sharply lower Friday, in line with the broader market, as Spain's banks increased their borrowing from the European Central Bank.

The Bank of New York index of ADRs lost 1.8% to 124.77 as European banks declined. The Bank of Spain said the country's banks nearly doubled their borrowing in March from the European Central Bank to 316.3 billion euros ($416.7 billion) compared with February, reawakening worries about their difficulties in borrowing through the wholesale market.

Spanish banks Banco Santander SA (STD, SAN.MC) fell 4.5% to $6.40, and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA, BBVA.MC) tumbled 4.1% to $6.85.

Other banks in the region also fell, with BNP Paribas SA (BNPQY, BNP.FR) closing off 6.3% at $19.80 and Societe Generale SA (SCGLY, GLE.FR) shedding 6.4% to $4.65.

The European index declined 2.1% to 113.20.

The European Commission Friday opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed creation of a joint venture in the U.K. between Vodafone Group PLC (VOD.LN, VOD, VODPF), Telefonica SA (TEF, TEF.MC) and Everything Everywhere in the field of mobile commerce. Everything Everywhere is a joint venture between France Telecom (FTE, FTE.FR) and Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE.XE, DTEGY).

Telefonica's shares shed 3.6% to $14.81, France Telecom traded down 3.1% to $13.32, and Deutsche Telekom ended 2.9% lower at $11.25.

The Asian index fell 1.3% to 125.81, and the emerging-markets index slipped 1.3% to 298.36.

China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd. (ZNH, K3TD.SG, 600029.SH, 1055.HK) said Friday it expects its first-quarter net profit to be down more than 50% from the same period a year earlier owing to higher fuel costs and the slowdown in domestic economic growth. Shares fell 4.2% to $22.53.

Infosys Ltd. (INFY, 500209.BY) posted a better-than-expected net profit for the January-March quarter, but the company's forecast that it may underperform the Indian outsourcing industry in revenue growth this fiscal year drove its shares down 13% to $49.15. Wipro Ltd. (WIT, 507685.BY) ended 7.2% lower at $9.99, on fears that Infosys's outlook means that the industry growth is under threat.

The Latin American index dropped 1.2% to 359.19.

Shares of Argentina's largest oil-and-gas company, YPF SA (YPF, YPFD.BA), were down in volatile trading early Friday as speculation about the company's future continued to drive the stock's vicissitudes. YPF's stock tumbled 4.3% to $21.95.

-By Corrie Driebusch, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2143; [e-mail]