Latin American companies down in New York

Shares of Latin American companies trading in the United States fell on Friday due to new reports of scandalous accusations out of Brazil, but foreign shares in the US as a whole were up on the day. The Bank of New York’s index of leading ADRs gained 0.6 percent to 126.39, but the Latin American index fell 1.7 percent to 163.29 as Brazil’s Bovespa index lost 1.5 percent to 26,491.2.

The decline was tied to reports that a former mayor in Sao Paulo state had ties to a bribe scheme. Brazilian long-distance telephone company Embratel Participacoes lost 6.3 percent to $9.14 on the New York Stock Exchange. Among other Brazilian companies trading in the US, steel company Gerdau declined by 5.2 percent to $11.32, energy company Copel fell 6.4 percent to $5.27, and Banco Bradesco, the nation’s largest private bank, lost 4.9 percent to $38.60.

The only two major South American stocks trading higher on the day were two banks, Bancolombia, which added 1.4 percent to $23.87, and Banco Santander, which was up by 1.3 percent to $37.18. Meanwhile, most of the ADR gains came from European companies. The index of leading European ADRs was up 0.8 percent to 130.13. The Asian index was up as well, but only by 0.1 percent to 114.78.

Asian companies that made gains included Japan’s Advantest, which was up 1.2 percent to $20.48, and China’s CNOOC, which gained 2.2 percent to $71.53. Oil companies led the European leaders. BP Plc was up 1.2 percent to $68.01 and France’s Total gained 1.3 percent to $127.49.

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