ADRs End Lower; Alibaba, Avianca Trade Actively

International stocks trading in New York closed higher on Wednesday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts dropped 1.3% to 150.76. The European index decreased 0.5% to 140.04. The Asian index declined 1.3% to 178.32. The Latin American index decreased 1.8% to 240.19. And the emerging-markets index dropped 2.1% to 319.76.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA), Baidu Inc. (BIDU) and Avianca Holdings SA (AVH) were among those with ADRs that traded actively.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba sold $7 billion in U.S.-dollar bonds, in its second visit to the bond markets in three years. The deal includes maturities stretching from 5.5 years to 40 years. ADRs of Alibaba fell 3.6% to $179.91.

Chinese internet giant Baidu was taken off watch for downgrade after six months by ratings firm Fitch in a sign the company is managing its risk and edging toward improved profitability. Fitch placed Baidu on watch for downgrade in May as it moved into offering unsecured consumer loans and selling uninsured investments. ADRs of Baidu fell 3.5% to $235.49.

Colombian airline Avianca and its second-largest shareholder Kingsland Holdings Ltd. said they agreed to withdraw their lawsuits over the company's strategic direction. Avianca announced plans in January to try to reach a partnership with United Continental, but Kingsland objected, saying Avianca had better offers from two other airlines and was focused on the United deal because it would be of greater benefit to Avianca's majority owner. Avianca said it hopes to reach final agreement with United by year-end. ADRs of Avianca rose 2.4% to $7.81.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 29, 2017 18:47 ET (23:47 GMT)