ADRs End Mostly Higher; China Life, Baidu Trade Actively

International stocks trading in New York closed mostly higher on Friday.

The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts improved 0.35% to 144.77. The European index rose 0.52% to 134.35. The Asian index edged up 0.06% to 168.74. And the Latin American index increased 0.14% to 248.09.

Meanwhile, the emerging-markets index declined 0.16% to 316.22.

Baidu Inc. (BIDU, K3SD.SG) and China Life Insurance Co. (LFC, 2628.HK, 2823.TW, 601628.SH) were among those with ADRs that traded actively.

Baidu continues to zero in on artificial intelligence by setting up a $1 billion private-equity fund with China Life that will focus on mid- to late-stage investments in areas such as AI, internet finance and mobile internet. China Life will contribute as much as CNY5.6 billion ($841 million) and Baidu will provide CNY1.4 billion. The move comes as Baidu is selling its takeout-delivery business to rival Ele.me in an effort to regroup and prioritize its business verticals beyond internet search. Baidu ADRs rose 0.31% to $225.55 while China Life's rose 6% to $16.20.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 25, 2017 17:55 ET (21:55 GMT)