ADR Report: Shares Lower Following Bernanke Remarks

International companies trading in New York closed lower Wednesday, in line with the broader market, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke quashed any hopes of further quantitative easing.

The Bank of New York index of ADRs fell 1.2% to 132.02 as the price of gold tumbled.

Shares of miners dropped as gold slumped to a one-month low and silver fell by almost 7% on Wednesday.

Peru's Compania de Minas Buenaventura SA (BVN, BUENAVC1.VL) lost 4.6% to $40.13, Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI, GFI.JO) traded down 3.2% to $15.37, Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HMY, HAR.JO) ended off 4% at $12.72 and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU, ANG.JO) dropped 2.4% to $42.45.

The European index declined 1.2% to 120.37.

Spanish oil firm Repsol YPF SA (REPYY, REP.MC) Wednesday said it fourth-quarter net profit, excluding inventory effects, fell 28.9%, weighed down by lower production in Libya. Shares of Repsol fell 5.8% to $25.95.

The forecast increase in global iron ore production capacity over the next two years coupled with higher Chinese scrap steel supply will likely drive down iron ore prices, possibly below the current marginal cost of iron ore production, said Moody's Investors Services in a report Wednesday. Shares of Rio Tinto PLC (RIO, RIO.LN), which is one of the top iron ore producers in the world, declined 2.7% to $56.93.

The Asian index shed 1.3% to 130.61.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (YGE) swung to the red in the fourth quarter as the Chinese solar panel manufacturer struggled under heavy write-downs and plunging solar panel prices. Shares fell 4.4% to $3.74. Fellow solar companies JinkoSolar Holding Co. (JKS) and Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP, K3ND.SG) also traded down, falling 4.7% to $7.28 and 5.8% to $3.10, respectively.

The Latin American index slipped 1.2% to 382.45 and the emerging markets index ended off 0.9% at 315.60.

Shares of Argentina's largest oil and gas company, YPF SA (YPF, YPFD.BA), fell 14% to $26.23 on Wednesday on speculation the government might nationalize the firm. President Cristina Kirchner is set to address Congress on Thursday and investors are worried that she may announce sweeping policy changes in the energy industry, including a partial or full-blown takeover of YPF.

Brazilian homebuilder Gafisa SA (GFA, GFSA3.BR) said Wednesday that it has refused a buyout offer from Chicago real-estate magnate Sam Zell and Brazilian investment fund GP Investimentos. The homebuilder, which has seen its stock jump in recent days on buyout speculation, said in February that it received an offer from Equity International, a Sam Zell company, and GP Investments. Gafisa's shares tumbled 8% to $5.55.

-By Corrie Driebusch, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2143; corrie.driebusch@dowjones.com

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