ADR Report: Shares Higher As Energy Companies Gain

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- International companies trading in New York closed mostly higher Friday as energy companies rose.

The Bank of New York index of ADRs gained 0.5% to 133.

Tullow Oil PLC (TUWOY, TLW.LN) shares rose 4.7% to $12.10 Friday after the U.K. oil explorer said it found "good quality" oil in a freshly drilled well off the coast of Ghana, a discovery that further proves up the potential of a deep water area near its giant Jubilee field.

Subsea 7 SA (SUBCY, SUBC.OS) climbed 5.6% to $24.96 after the Norwegian oil-engineering group reported a record backlog. The company also said it continues to see growth opportunities in all major markets.

Separately, oil prices rebounded as reports Thursday of a potential release of strategic oil reserves were denied by the White House.

Light, sweet crude oil for April delivery settled $1.95 higher at $107.06 a barrel.

Energy company BG Group PLC (BRGYY, BG.LN) added 2.1% to $24.55.

The European index rose 0.8% to 122.03.

French waste-and-water utility Veolia Environnement SA (VE, VIE.FR) announced Friday the departure of three members from its executive committee and the appointment of one new member, and confirmed its ongoing cost-cutting plan. Shares gained 6% to $16.92.

The Asian index climbed 0.1% to 131.30.

Perfect World Co.'s (PWRD) fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled as the Chinese online-game developer reported higher licensing and online-gaming revenue, but margins weakened. Though Perfect World's fourth-quarter report was strong, Susquehanna noted the stock is up mostly due to a special dividend that reflects the company's strong free cash flow and healthy operations. Shares gained 28% to $16.01.

ReneSola Ltd. (SOL) swung to a fourth-quarter loss as the Chinese solar-products maker's cost reductions couldn't mitigate a double-digit drop in module shipments. But revenue beat analysts' estimates, and shares jumped 14% to $2.81.

Other solar companies also posted gains, with Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL, K3KD.SG) adding 4.9% to $8.13 and LDK Solar Co. (LDK) rising 4.9% to $4.90.

The Latin American index added 0.1% to 377.90.

Financial firms in Argentina posted gains, with Grupo Financiero Galicia SA (GGAL, GFNORTE.MX) up 2.2% to $7.12 and Banco Marco SA (BMA, BMA.BA) adding 1.7% to $20.95.

The emerging markets index inched down 0.2% to 311.81.

Brazilian airline GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA's (GOL, GOLL4.BR) traffic dropped 3% in February, as it increased tariff prices in the period, the company said late Thursday in a statement. Shares fell 3.7% to $8.15.

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