By Mia Lamar
International companies trading in New York closed slightly
lower Wednesday, weighed down by a broad decline in energy
shares.
The Bank of New York index of ADRs fell 0.1% to 124.13.
Shares of Spanish oil firm Repsol SA (REPYY, REP.MC) fell 3.3%
to $18.12, Australia's Santos Ltd. (SSLTY, STO.AU) shed 2% to
$12.25 while PetroChina Co. (PTR, K3OD.SG, 0857.HK, 601857.SH)
declined 1.2% to $124.28.
The European index fell 0.2% to 116.40. The region's mining
stocks were mostly lower, led by a 1.2% decline for Anglo American
PLC (AAUKY, AAL.LN).
Deutsche Telekom AG's (DTEGY, DTE.XE) T-Mobile USA said it will
launch an unlimited data plan next month that is cheaper than some
existing offerings, the latest sign of an increasingly fractured
wireless industry in the U.S.
T-Mobile hopes the plan will give it an edge compared to its
larger rivals whose financial heft and scale gives them better
access to hot devices and more money to build bigger and faster
wireless networks. Shares rose 1.9% to $11.96.
The Asian index ended flat at 120.41.
Network operator China Telecom Corp. (CHA, 0728.HK, K3ED.SG) on
Wednesday reported a drop in first-half net profit, but nonetheless
beat expectations as user numbers grew in the face of intensifying
competition. Shares climbed 9.1% to $56.24.
Cnooc Ltd. (CEO, 0883.HK) added to the broader energy losses,
falling 1.2% to $192.17 as investors continued to digest a
disappointing earnings reports issued by the company on
Tuesday.
The Latin American index rose 0.2% to 326.30, making it the
day's only gainer. The emerging markets index was flat at
276.32.
Shares of Cemex SAB (CX, CEMEX.MX) jumped 3.8% to $8.15 after
the Mexican cement and building materials company unveiled plans to
sell a minority stake in a Latin America unit. The planned listing
is part of Cemex's efforts to sell assets to pay down its heavy
debt load.
Elsewhere, Bernstein analysts cut Brazilian telecom TIM
Participacoes SA (TSU, TIMP3.BR) to market perform from outperform,
noting the company is the "likely loser in the a more politicized
wireless market."
TIM was one of the three mobile phone companies in Brazil that
regulators this summer briefly banned from selling new lines,
citing complaints about their customer service and calling
quality.
"With a far weaker Latin American presence than its competitors
in Brazil, we think TI is likely to be the loser in a game of local
political lobbying," Bernstein analysts wrote in a note to
clients.
Shares slumped 5.3% to $19.51 in New York.
Write to Mia Lamar at mia.lamar@dowjones.com