ADR Shares End Higher; Petrobras Shares Rise

International stocks trading in New York closed higher on Thursday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts edged up 0.29% to 146.99. The European index increased 0.2% to 143.61, the Asian index improved 0.51% to 157.05, the Latin American index rose 0.17% to 222.36 and the emerging markets index increased 0.92% to 273.40. Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR4.BR, PETR3.BR) was among the companies with ADRs that traded actively.

Petroleo Brasileiro has made the changes needed to get past the corruption scandal that has shaken the country over the past year, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said Thursday during a visit to Rio de Janeiro state. The president praised Petrobras for producing oil from the deep-sea deposits known as the pre-salt area, and said the company is ready to move on. ADRs of Petrobras rose nearly 9% to $7.54.

ADRs of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) rose 75 cents to $86.14 after the Chinese company's financial affiliate formally launched a stock index that tracks shares based on e-commerce metrics, a further step by Alibaba to leverage the vast amounts of proprietary data it accumulates from its online trading sites.

The European metals and mining team at Credit Suisse, which is increasingly bearish on the sector, downgraded BHP Billiton's rating to underperform from neutral and also cut its earnings estimate and price target. ADRs of Billiton PLC (BBL, BLT.LN) dropped 2% to $43.12 and BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU) fell 1.9% to $45.84.

ADRs of China Life Insurance Co. (LFC, 2628.HK, 601628.SH, 2823.TW) rose 5.4% to $78.41 a day after China Life and Ping An Insurance Co. confirmed they will buy a majority stake in a $500 million project in Boston, their first investment in U.S. commercial real estate. The investment by China's two largest insurance companies, along with New York developer Tishman Speyer Properties, marks the latest sign that Chinese insurance companies are becoming a force in global real-estate investment. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported the deal.

French magistrates have put HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC, HSBA.LN, 0005.HK) under formal investigation as part of a widening probe into whether the U.K. bank helped rich French people evade taxes, prosecutors said Thursday. HSBC said the French magistrates' decision was "without legal basis" and called a bond of 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to cover potential penalties "unwarranted and excessive." The bank said it would appeal and and "defend itself vigorously in any future proceedings." ADRs rose 1.8% to $44.54.

Shire PLC said (SHPG, SHP.LN) its investigational treatment for Alagille syndrome didn't meet primary or secondary endpoints in a clinical study. Alagille syndrome is a rare life-threatening genetic disorder in children that presents with accumulation of bile acids in the liver and severe itching. The pharmaceutical company's ADRs rose 2.9% to $254.32.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

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