ADR REPORT - ADRs firmer, look past Clinton
Reuters, Tuesday, August 18, 1998 at 14:45
By Ian Simpson
NEW YORK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - American Depositary Receipts
(ADRs) and foreign shares were mostly higher Tuesday as
investors shrugged off jitters about President Bill Clinton and
Russia's economy.
Dealers said few ADRs stood out in mostly quiet trade. One
ADR indicator, the Bank of New York index of 431 leading ADRs
<.BKADR>, rose 1.45 points, or 1.4 percent, to 104.96 in late
morning.
"Most things are up in pretty light volume," a trader in
European ADRs said.
"The general sentiment is that until the next bit of bad
news there is a very limited downside" to U.S. and other
markets.
He added that the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average
could drop another 200 points, but the range of a potential
rise was 500 to 1,000 points. The Dow was up 77 points, or 0.9
percent, at 8652 points.
Traders said investors were focusing on European issues
because of uncertainties about emerging markets in the wake of
Russia's de facto devaluation of the rouble Monday.
"The valuation and fundamentals story remains very much a
European focus from the equity standpoint," one said.
Dealers said investors largely were shrugging off Russia's
rouble move and Clinton's televised address late Monday. The
president said he had had a relationship with former White
House intern Monica Lewinsky that was "not appropriate."
"It's a reasonably good environment given everything that
has gone on over the last few days," one dealer said.
Among Russian ADRs, oil company AO Tatneft fell 9/16, or
12.86 percent, to 3-13/16 and long-distance telephone company
Rostelecom (NYSE:ROS) <RTKM.RTS> slipped 11/16, or 9.73 percent,
to 6-3/8, a record low.
The Morgan Stanley Russia & New Europe Fund Inc. (NYSE:RNE)
shaved 5/8, or 4.76 percent, to 12-1/2. Templeton Russia Fund
Inc. (NYSE:TRF) fell one, or six percent, to 15-11/16.
The ADRs and funds were among percentage-loss leaders on
the New York Stock Exchange.
Leading Chinese ADRs also were lower amid fears that China
might devalue its own currency. Beijing Yanhua Petrochemical
Co. Ltd. (HKSE:0325) (NYSE:BYH) dropped 9/16, or 14.29 percent, to
3-3/8, a record low.
Beijing Yanhua was the percentage-loss leader on the New
York Stock Exchange.
Brazilian telephone issue Telebras SA (SAO:TELB4) (NYSE:TBR), a
bellwether emerging market ADR, was off 2-5/16 to 91-5/8 and
was among volume leaders on the New York Stock Exchange.
European telecommunications ADRs were firmer, with Swedish
equipment maker Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson (SWED:LME.B) (NASDAQ:ERICY) up
1-1/16 to 25-3/4. Deutsche Telekom (FSE:DTEG) (NYSE:DT) rose 1-9/16
to 29-3/8.
France Telecom (SBF:FTE) (NYSE:FTE) rose 5-3/16 to 79-1/16, a
12-month high, in light trade.
ADRs allow U.S. trade of foreign shares.
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service |
