ADR Shares End Lower; National Bank of Greece Trades Actively
August 20 2015 - 6:16PM
Dow Jones News
International stocks trading in New York closed lower on
Thursday.
The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts fell 2.1%,
to 134.95. The European index declined nearly 2%, to 136.59; the
Asian index fell 2.8%, to 138.30; the Latin American index edged
down 0.32%, to 175.61; and the emerging markets index fell 1.8%, to
220.24. National Bank of Greece SA (NBG, ETE.AT) was among the
companies with ADRs that traded actively.
Royal Ahold NV on Thursday said its second-quarter net profit
rose 33% from a year earlier, as the Dutch supermarket operator
reaped the benefits of a strong performance in both the U.S. and
the Netherlands. The results came as Ahold is preparing to merge
with Belgium's Delhaize Group (DEG, DELB.BT) in a $29 billion
tie-up that would create one of the largest supermarket operators
in the U.S. and give the grocers greater buying clout as they
grapple with slow growth and intensifying competition. Delhaize's
ADRs rose 3%, to $22.73.
Brazil's giant bank Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB, ITUB3.BR,
ITUB4.BR) is more focused on the expansion of its technology than
in the creation of new branches, bank president Roberto Setubal
said in a presentation to investors and analysts. Mr. Setubal said
the technology focus reduces his bank's appetite to dispute the
acquisition of HSBC Brazil's unit by Itau's rival Banco Bradesco SA
(BBD, BBDO, BBDC4.BR) this month. Itau's ADRs rose 1.3%, to $7.58,
while Bradesco's closed up 0.3%, at $6.77.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned in a bid to trigger
snap elections and return to power stronger, plunging his country
into weeks of political paralysis just as it seemed to have scraped
through a summer of fraught bailout talks and near-bankruptcy.
Opinion polls suggest Mr. Tsipras is well placed to return as prime
minister. But the shape of the next government is uncertain. An
outright parliamentary majority for Mr. Tsipras and the part of
Syriza that is loyal to him is possible, but unlikely, analysts
say. ADRs of National Bank of Greece, Greece's largest lender by
assets, fell 8%, to 76 cents.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 20, 2015 18:01 ET (22:01 GMT)
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