Overseas shares traded in the United States edged higher on Friday as gains stemming from a strong payrolls report were partly offset by a decline in European shares as the euro tumbled against the dollar. The euro posted its biggest weekly loss against the greenback since January, down more than 3 percent as sovereign debt concerns reappeared after a German news report, later denied, suggested Greece had raised the possibility of leaving the euro zone.
US-traded shares of European financials including the National Bank of Greece, Spain's Banco Santander, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Amsterdam-based ING posted losses between 1.4 percent and 5.4 percent. Latin American shares posted the largest gains on a boost from an unexpectedly strong payrolls report in the United States, the regions top commercial partner.
The BNY Mellon index of leading American Depository Receipts edged up 0.17 percent while in comparison the US benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.38 percent. For the week, the ADR index dropped 3.98 percent, its largest such drop since mid August, while the S&P 500 posted its largest weekly decline since mid March.
Latin American ADRs gained 0.93 percent on the US jobs numbers and as Brazil and Chile posted inflation data that was cooler than expected. US-traded shares of Brazil Foods added 2.9 percent to $19.55 and an index of Brazilian ADRs rose 1.2 percent. Chile's brewer Compañia de Cervecerias Unidas rose 3.4 percent to $59.95. The BNY Mellon index of leading Asian ADRs advanced 0.83 percent with Chinese ADRs up 0.94 percent for the day. The BNY Mellon index of leading European ADRs fell 0.26 percent.