ADRs End Slightly Lower; Alibaba, ArcelorMittal and Ericsson Trade Actively

International stocks trading in New York closed lower on Tuesday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts fell 0.1% to 142.30. The European index increased 0.1% to 133.24. The Asian index dropped 0.8% to 167.98. The Latin American index rose 1.9% to 211.96. And the emerging-markets index decreased 0.7% to 295.79.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA), ArcelorMittal SA (MT) and Ericsson AB (ERIC) were among those with ADRs that traded actively.

Billionaire Jack Ma said China's government didn't push him to step down as head of Alibaba, blaming rumors emanating from outside China for fueling such speculation. Alibaba's executive chairman told investors at an event in the e-commerce giant's home city of Hangzhou on Tuesday that his coming retirement had been planned for a decade. The timing of the announcement earlier this month that Mr. Ma, 54, would hand over the reins to Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang next September caught many by surprise. ADRs of Alibaba were down 1.4% to $156.65.

Members of the United Steelworkers union voted late Monday to authorize their bargaining committee to call a strike against ArcelorMittal in the U.S., signaling the union's increasing frustration with contract negotiations. Both sides agreed last week to take a break from talks until September 20. The contract for the company's 15K union workers expired September 1. Bargaining team Chairman David McCall says the company "has insisted on concessions that would more than wipe out any pay increases in its proposal." Steelworkers for United States Steel, whose contract with the union also expired September 1 have already authorized a strike. ADRs of ArcelorMittal were up 2.7% to $30.44.

Ericsson said Tuesday that it now expects the divestment of its majority stake in MediaKind to be completed around the end of 2018, rather than during the third quarter, as the process has proved "more complex than originally expected." The Swedish telecommunications-equipment company also said the costs associated with the divestment will be equally distributed between the third and fourth quarter. The company previously said it expected to book the entirety of the additional expenses during the third quarter. ADRs of Ericsson rose 1.8% to $8.70.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 18, 2018 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)

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