International stocks trading in New York closed lower on
Wednesday. The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts
fell nearly 1% to 142.28. The European index decreased 1.1% to
139.01, the Asian index dropped 0.6% to 143.26, the Latin American
index fell 0.9% to 263.37 and the emerging-markets index declined
0.8% to 281.20. Among the companies with shares that actively
traded was British American Tobacco PLC (BTI, BATS.LN).
British American Tobacco on Wednesday reported a big decline in
nine-month revenue, blaming a slow recovery in western Europe and
pressure on the disposable incomes of consumers in all of its big
markets. The maker of Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Kent cigarettes
said revenue fell 9.6% in period ended Sept. 30, largely because of
currency weakness in its major markets. Shares fell 4% to
$108.21.
ABB Ltd. (ABB, ABBN.VX, ABB.SK) said third-quarter profit fell
12% but beat expectations, as the world's largest maker of power
grids cautioned that the global economic and political climate had
created a murky outlook for the near term. Shares rose 12 cents to
$21.09.
Shares of Himax Technologies Inc. (HIMX) continued to decline
Wednesday, a day after the Taiwan-based company said Google Inc.
(GOOG) decided not to increase its stake in the company's Himax
Display Inc. unit, which provides liquid-crystal-on-silicon
technology for Google Glass. Last year, Google bought a 6.3%
interest in HDI, with the option to increase its stake to 14.8%.
Himax shares fell 6.1% to $7.53.
Wipro Ltd. (WIT, 507685.BY) reported an 8% rise in
second-quarter earnings, aided by a large outsourcing contract the
Bangalore-based firm struck with Canada-based utility firm ATCO in
July. However the company's profit missed expectations. Shares fell
4.5% to $11.71.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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