By Nathalie Tadena
International companies trading in New York closed lower Tuesday
amid continued concerns about Greece after the country's creditors
disagreed on how Greece's debt should be tackled.
The Bank of New York index of ADRs slipped 0.5% to 123.60.
Euro-zone finance ministers were unable to reach agreement on the
disbursement of a long-delayed 31.5 billion tranche of aid at a
meeting Monday night, pushing the decision to later this month.
Shares of National Bank of Greece SA (NBG, ETE.AT) fell 4.9% to
$1.95.
The European index slipped 0.3% to 117.75.
Vodafone Group PLC (VOD, VOD.LN) plunged into the red Tuesday as
it took a new 5.9 billion pounds ($9.37 billion) write-down on its
hamstrung Spanish and Italian operations. The company also reported
its first fall in mobile service revenues--its main income
stream--in 10 straight quarters. Shares fell 2.7% to $25.69.
Mining giant Anglo American PLC (AAUKY, AAL.LN) said Tuesday its
delayed Minas-Rio iron ore project in Brazil is now likely to cost
at least $8 billion, more than three times the cost estimate when
the development was initiated. Shares were off 4.6% to $13.88.
The Asian index declined 1.1% to 117.60.
Chinese energy stocks ended lower amid weaker crude-oil futures.
The International Energy Agency lowered its forecast for global oil
demand through the end of the year and said economic weakness could
pressure demand next year. Shares of PetroChina Co. (PTR, 0857.HK),
China's largest listed oil company by capacity, fell 2.3% to
$130.76 while China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP, 0386.HK)
shares slipped 3.2% to $101.45.
The Latin American index slid 0.5% to 310.76 and the
emerging-markets index dropped 1% to 272.20.
Shares of South African gold miners fell as gold prices eased
amid renewed concerns about Greece as well as pressure from a
stronger dollar. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU, ANG.JO) slipped 1.5%
to $32.98 while Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (HMY, HAR.JO) ended
2.4% lower at $8.08. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI, GFI.JO) shares declined
1.4% to $12.43.
Among the gainers, Brazilian real-estate developer Gafisa SA
(GFA, GFSA3.BR) swung to a third-quarter net profit from a year ago
as the company cuts costs by reducing new developments. Gafisa's
CEO Duilio Calciolari said the company's latest results
"demonstrate that the execution of Gafisa's operations advanced in
the direction of our planned full-year targets." Shares jumped 8.3%
to $3.91.
Write to Nathalie Tadena at nathalie.tadena@dowjones.com