International stocks trading in New York closed higher on
Thursday.
The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts rose 0.83%
to 146.06. The European index increased 0.77% to 146.12, the Asian
index improved 1.1% to 150.45, the Latin American index edged up
0.06% to 210.48 and the emerging markets index increased 0.89% to
251.12. National Bank of Greece SA (NBG) was among the companies
with ADRs that traded actively.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi sent a signal of
support for Greece's embattled government and banks, saying the ECB
would grant more emergency loans to lenders and backing calls for
Greek debt relief. Greek banks are expected to reopen Monday for
limited transactions, Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas told
Greek national broadcaster ERT. ADRs of National Bank of Greece
fell 5.1% to $1.11.
Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN) confirmed Thursday that Deputy
Chairman and Senior Independent Director Michael Rake will continue
to serve on the bank's boards until a new group chief executive is
in post, following Mr. Rake's appointment on Wednesday as chairman
of payments company Worldpay. Barclays was responding to reports in
the media, including The Wall Street Journal, on Wednesday that
said Mr. Rake had resigned after seven years with the bank. ADRs
edged up 11 cents to $17.46.
Carnival Corp. & PLC (CCL, CUK, CCL.LN) raised its quarterly
dividend 20%, a move the cruise ship company's chief executive,
Arnold Donald, attributed to its strong cash flow. Carnival's ADRs
rose 47 cents to $54.31.
German regulators accused a half-dozen current Deutsche Bank AG
(DB, DBK.XE) executives of failing to stop or tell regulators about
years of attempted market manipulation, according to a confidential
report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal that portrays the German
bank as suffering from a badly broken corporate culture. ADRs rose
1.5% to $33.21.
The Saudi Arabia unit of HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC, HSBA.LN,
0005.HK) has come under investigation by regulators in the kingdom
for its role in a stock listing that has left investors nursing
heavy losses and the bank's chief executive cleaning up a fresh
mess. ADRs rose 1.2% to $45.24.
Rio Tinto PLC (RIO, RIO.LN, RIO.AU) expects to ship less iron
ore than initially thought from its vast network of mines in remote
northwest Australia this year, news that may offer a morsel of
relief for investors and smaller producers worried about an
emerging glut in the raw material. The Anglo-Australian miner said
severe weather conditions had hampered operations and meant it
would fall short of its earlier target. ADRs rose 34 cents to
$40.81.
Sanofi's (SNY) plans to simplify the company into five global
business units from seven businesses could pave the way for more
cost savings, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. The bank
said the French pharmaceutical company's reorganization, which will
be put in place in January 2016, would improve accountability for
each part and "suggests Sanofi's cost base could be further
streamlined." ADRs rose 1% to $53.53.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM, 2330.TW) reported
its slowest earnings growth in a year in the second quarter, as the
maker of iPhone chips loses some orders to rivals while global
smartphone demand tapers. ADRs edged up 17 cents to $22.73.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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