International stocks trading in New York closed mostly lower on Thursday.
The S&P/BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts eased 0.5% to 164.06. The European index declined 0.8% to 148.20. The Latin American index declined 0.5% to 191.41. And the emerging-markets index eased 0.1% to 355.79.
Meanwhile, the Asian index edged up 0.01% to 214.12.
Chinese companies were among those whose ADRs traded actively.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., JD.com Inc., and Baidu Inc. were among the Chinese companies whose ADRs rallied as the People's Bank of China cut two key rates as part of its efforts to support economic growth. Alibaba's ADRs rose 2.6% to $131.03; JD.com's rose 6.5% to $77; and Baidu's rose 5% to $162.03.
Unilever PLC's decision not to bump up its GBP50 billion takeover offer for GlaxoSmithKline PLC's consumer products division should be positive for the finances of the British consumer goods multinational, says ING. "[The decision] is positive in the sense that a higher bid without a clear financing plan other than through the banks would not make sense," says ING's analyst Alyssa Gammoudy. This could also be a way for Unilever to graciously walk away from the deal, she says. The potential purchase would have driven Unilever's corporate bond spreads wider across all maturities, she says. While shifting its focus to Home, Healthcare and Hygiene would create value longer-term, Ms. Gammoudy says she would first like to see a plan on divestments or spin-offs which could help finance such a transaction. Unilever's ADRs fell 1.3% to $49.40, while Glaxo's fell 1.8% to $44.88.
Rio Tinto PLC said Thursday it was reviewing the legal basis and implications of a decision by Serbia's government to revoke licenses for the mining company's lithium project. ADRs fell 2.3% to $76.16.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-20-22 1656ET
