Latin stocks lead on ADR

Latin American stocks led the way among foreign companies trading on US stock exchanges on Friday. The Bank of New York’s index of leading Latin American ADRs hit 174.39, its highest level ever and a gain of 0.7 percent on the day.

Asian and European stocks traded in New York were also high on the day, with the index of leading European ADRs up 0.4 percent to 133.05 and the index of leading Asian ADRs rising by 0.1 percent to 116.57. The overall index of leading ADRs gained 0.4 percent on the day. Among Latin American stocks, utilities and telecommunications led the way.

Telefonica de Argentina’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange were up 0.8 percent to $7.70, while America Movil, the Mexican cell phone operator, gained 1.6 percent to $23.19. Among utilities, Endsea Chile and Brazilian company Cemig both gained 0.7 percent on the day, Endsea Chile reaching $26.69 and Cemig going up to $35.21.

Shares in energy companies were mostly down as crude oil prices dropped after the International Energy Agency said it is thinking about releasing emergency reserves to help out the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Sasol Ltd., the South African petrochemical company, fell 0.9 percent to $35.68 and China Petroleum was down 0.6 percent to $45.09.

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