By Anna Prior
International companies trading in New York closed higher
Tuesday, as the potential outcomes of the U.S. election appeared to
overshadow concerns about the struggling euro zone.
The Bank of New York index of ADRs rose 0.8% to 127.63. A clean
resolution to the election could give stocks a boost in the short
term regardless of who wins, said traders.
The European index climbed 0.8% to 121.30.
Credit Suisse Group AG (CS, CSGN.VX) will form an
asset-management company with Qatar's sovereign-wealth fund, in a
deal meant to help the Swiss lender reduce its reliance on
investment banking and tap into the wealth of emerging markets,
while enhancing the Gulf state's ambitions to create a financial
hub and reduce its dependence on gas exports. Shares rose 3.3% to
$24.20.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was concerned that
a proposed, long-acting insulin product being developed by Danish
insulin producer Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO, NOVO-B.KO) might increase
the risks of cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes.
The FDA released Tuesday a review of the product used to treat
diabetes, in advance of an advisory committee meeting on Thursday
to discuss the new drug application for the product. Shares plunged
9.1% to $145.18.
The Asian index edged up 0.6% to 121.49.
A day after Chinese solar-products maker LDK Solar Co. Ltd.
(LDK) named a new chief executive and appointed five members to its
board, shares jumped 13% to 98 cents. While LDK has had many of the
same problems as other solar-equipment companies like heavy debt
and deepening losses, the company has won help from optimistic
investors, sympathetic lenders and local-government officials
looking to support a major employer (most of the five new directors
in fact have ties to local government or companies), according to a
report in The Wall Street Journal.
The Latin American index rose 0.8% to 325.78 and the emerging
markets index rose 0.9% to 283.25.
Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S.A.B.
de C.V. (ASR, ASUR.MX) said total passenger traffic for October
2012 increased by 12.1% from the same period a year earlier.
U.S.-listed shares rose 4.5% to $102.86.
A bump in gold prices gave a boost to shares of South African
miners. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU, ANG.JO) jumped 4% to $34.04,
while Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (HMY, HAR.JO) climbed 3.6% to
$8.06, and Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI, GFI.JO) rose 2.9% to $12.60.
-Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@dowjones.com