By Anna Prior
International companies trading in New York closed higher Friday
amid optimism that progress may be made in the stalemate in
Washington over the weekend.
The Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts rose
0.3% to 144.93.
Whiles concerns over how the government shutdown might affect
the economy and upcoming debt ceiling talks still exist, some
investors seemed to have hopes that U.S. lawmakers could be getting
closer to agreeing on a budget deal and ending the four-day
government shutdown.
The European index edged up 0.2% to 139.53.
Financial stocks added to gains, with the Royal Bank of Scotland
Group PLC (RBS, RBS.LN) rising 1.7% to $12.03, UBS AG (UBS,
UBSN.VX) adding 0.4% to $20.58, Deutsche Bank AG (DB, DBK.XE)
rising 0.6% to $47.17 and Banco Santander SA (SAN, SAN.MC) rising
3.5% to $8.66.
The Asian index climbed 0.6% to 147.21.
Charm Communications Inc. (CHRM), an advertising agency in
China, said it has established a special committee of its board of
directors to consider the preliminary non-binding offer to be taken
private by a consortium including its chairman and founder, He
Dang, that values the company around $180 million. Shares rose 0.9%
to $4.36.
However, Chinese greenhouse vegetable producer Le Gaga Holdings
Ltd. (GAGA) disclosed damages at its production bases in Huidong,
Guangdong province, caused by super typhoon Usagi. The company said
the storm hit the company's production bases on Sept. 22 and caused
"substantial damage." Le Gaga said the damage caused by Usagi will
affect production and the company's business, results of operations
and financial condition. The company wasn't able to quantify the
effect as it still evaluates the extent of the damage. Shares
tumbled 10% to $3.19.
The Latin American index increased 0.7% to 294.73 and the
emerging markets index added 0.6% to 278.95.
South African gold miners added to gains, with Harmony Gold
Mining Co. (HMY, HAR.JO) rising 1.2% to $3.26, Drdgold Ltd. (DRD,
DRD.JO) rising 1.3% to $5.61, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU, ANG.JO)
rising 0.5% to $12.77, and Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI, GFI.JO) edging up
0.2% to $4.43.
Moody's downgrade of Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR4.BR), or
Petrobras, backs up broader unease about the Brazilian oil
company's increasing debt load and ambitious plans to invest $237
billion through 2017, said brokerage house Concordia. Still,
Concordia maintained a "favorable" view on Petrobras for medium-
and long-term investors and said that despite the downgrade,
Petrobras still holds an investment-grade rating. Shares edged down
0.1% to $15.70.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com