By Nathalie Tadena
International companies trading in New York closed higher
Tuesday, as a surge in oil prices helped boost energy shares.
The Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts
gained 1% to 121.58.
Oil prices rallied on revived tensions over the Iranian nuclear
program and renewed speculation about more central bank easing,
lifting shares of oil companies. Share of Total rose 2.3% to
$46.54, Statoil shares were up 1.6% to $24.64, Petrobras gained
3.2% to $19.67 and Sinopec climbed 3% to $29.34.
The European index rose a fraction to 112.47.
The approval of two of Syngenta's corn varieties by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency is positive for the company's U.S.
corn franchise, said a Vontobel analyst. "The approvals further
strengthen the competitive offer in corn and should prove
supportive for both top-line growth and margins in the seeds
business," analyst Patrick Rafaisz said. Shares of Syngenta, a
Swiss agricultural chemical and seed company, rose 2.5% to
$68.82.
Among decliners, Barclays PLC's shares slipped 2.1% to $10.54.
Barclays's chief operating officer Jerry del Missier resigned, the
second senior executive to quit the U.K. bank Tuesday in the wake
of its settlement with regulators over an interest-rate-fixing
scandal.
The Asian index climbed 1.5% to 121.09.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded its ratings on
Indonesia telecom operator Indosat by one notch, placing it on the
brink of investment grade. The ratings firm said it expects Indosat
to maintain its improved financial performance over the next two
years at least. Shares were up 1.4% to $23.01.
Barclays said India retail loans, at about 18% of total bank
loans, are showing early signs of a pickup due to an improvement on
demand for housing loans. "An increasing contribution from retail
loans for FY13 is likely given banks' stated focus on retail
lending and housing loans in particular," the firm said. Icici Bank
shares rose 2.6% to $33.25.
The Latin American index traded up 1.5% to 324.44 and the
emerging markets index advanced 1.7% to 276.48.
Mining stocks posted broad gains as metal prices pushed higher
across the board.
Among South African gold-mining companies, AngloGold Ashanti
shares finished up 2.2% to $34.29, Harmony Gold Mining Co. shares
gained 2% to $9.40 and DRDGold climbed 2.6% to $6.67.
Peru's Compania de Minas Buenaventura shares jumped 1.5% to
$38.82 while Brazil's Vale shares improved 2.4% to $20.59.
-Write to Nathalie Tadena at nathalie.tadena@dowjones.com