By Anna Prior
International companies trading in New York closed mostly
unchanged Tuesday ahead of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke.
The Bank of New York index of ADRs was little changed at
142.66.
On Wednesday, Mr. Bernanke is scheduled to testify before
Congress, and the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Fed's
monetary-policy committee are to be released.
On Tuesday, speeches by two regional Fed presidents helped
assuage some investor concerns that the Fed was leaning toward
winding down its stimulus.
The European index was also flat at 134.23.
Cruise-line operator Carnival PLC (CUK, CCL.LN) slashed its
full-year guidance, noting cruise ticket pricing has led to
lower-than-expected revenue yields and voyage cancellations and
increased costs are expected to hurt bottom-line results. Shares
fell 5.7% to $34.78.
Shares of National Bank of Greece SA (NBG, ETE.AT) continued to
slide, tumbling 10% to $1.42. The company said Monday that it will
sell 2.27 billion new shares as part of its recapitalization
plan.
The Asian index was also little changed at 147.82.
Chinese solar energy company Yingli Green Energy Holding Co.
(YGE) said it expects its photovoltaic module shipments in the
first quarter to be better than its prior view, while it
anticipates its gross margin to be in line with previous estimates.
Shares rose 15% to $3.55.
Other solar companies rallied on the news, continuing a surge
from Monday after JA Solar Holdings Co. (JASO) posted a
narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss. Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL,
K3KD.SG) rose 5.9% to $7.18, while LDK Solar Co. (LDK) climbed 12%
to $2.04, ReneSola Ltd. (SOL) added 11% to $2.74, Suntech Power
Holdings Co. (STP, K3ND.SG) rose 53% to $1.28, and Hanwha SolarOne
Co. (HSOL) climbed 10% to $1.73.
The Latin American index slipped 0.2% to 321.24 and the emerging
markets index fell 0.3% to 283.64.
Mexican food and beverage company Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB
(FMX, FEMSA.MX), or Femsa, received a downgrade from neutral to
underperform from Credit Suisse. The investment bank said it sees
headwinds for Femsa, including possible tighter regulation in the
beer industry, the risk of higher excise taxes on soft drinks and a
slowdown in customer traffic at the Oxxo convenience stores. Shares
fell 3.6% to $110.03.
-Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@dowjones.com