International stocks trading in New York were mixed on Thursday.
The Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts fell
0.1% to 156.34. The European index decreased 0.27% to 155.58, the
Asian index improved 0.27% to 149.34, the Latin American index rose
0.09% to 291.27 and the emerging-markets index increased 0.36% to
289.75. Among the companies with shares that actively traded was
Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN).
Major brokers are shutting down their connections to a dark pool
run by Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN) after the New York Attorney
General on Wednesday filed a lawsuit accusing the bank of fraud,
The Wall Street Journal reported. The civil suit alleged that
Barclays lied about how it favors high-frequency players in the
firm's stock-trading business. Broker-dealers including Deutsche
Bank AG (DB, DBK.XE), Royal Bank of Canada (RY, RY.T) and ITG have
removed connections to the dark pool, called Barclays LX, from
their routing systems, according to the Journal. Barclays shares
fell 7.4% to $14.55. Deutsche Bank shares fell 2.7% to $35.51.
AstraZeneca PLC (AZN, AZN.LN) said an advisory committee to the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted against accelerated
approval of a ovarian cancer drug in the U.S. The decision dealt a
blow to its new drug-development pipeline, an important plank of
its defense in fighting off a $120 billion approach from Pfizer
Inc. (PFE) last month. The FDA isn't obliged to follow the panel's
recommendations, although it often does. AstraZeneca shares fell
0.3% to $74.13.
Siemens AG (SIEGY, SIE.XE) applied for U.S. Food and Drug
Administration approval for its 3-D breast tomosynthesis system.
Earlier this week, the technology--which scans breasts from
multiple angles to create a 3-D image--got a big boost when a
much-publicized study found them more accurate than regular digital
scans. Currently only Hologic Inc.'s (HOLX) 3-D system has FDA
approval. General Electric Co. (GE) completed its application last
July. Siemens shares fell 1.4% to $131.57.
Statoil (STO, STL.OS) signed a preliminary agreement with
Oslo-based oil supplier Kvaerner ASA (KVAER.OS) for the 3 billion
Norwegian kroner ($489 million) delivery of two steel substructures
to the Johan Sverdrup oil field, one of the country's biggest-ever
developments, a sign that high-cost suppliers in Norway are
slashing costs to win contracts. The deal comes after a number of
offshore contracts have been awarded to cheaper Asian yards in
recent years, and as Norwegian oil suppliers worry about Statoil's
plans to cut spending. Shares fell 0.4% to $30.95.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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