BP Share News (BP.)

By Shara Tibken Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--International companies trading in New York dropped Thursday as worries about European debt problems and uncertainty about a regime change in Australia weighed on shares. The Bank of New York index of ADRs declined 1.8% to 117.86, and the European index fell 1.9% to 106.17. BP PLC's (BP, BP.LN) shares hit a fresh 14-year low as investors continued to fret over the uncertainty surrounding the oil giant's liability and containment efforts for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP's American depositary shares closed down 3.1% at $28.74 after hitting an intraday low at $28.56, the stock's lowest point since Aug. 9, 1996. Other energy stocks also sank amid a new lawsuit and continuing uncertainty over the deep-water drilling moratorium. French refiner Total SA (TOT, FP.FR) slid 2.3% to $47.24, and Colombian oil company Ecopetrol SA (EC, ECOPETROL.BO) fell 3.1% to $28.67. Miners also were lower as investors worried about economic growth and also tried to assess the implications of a change of leadership in Australia on a proposed super-tax for the sector. Julia Gillard ousted Kevin Rudd as prime minister and said she was open to talking about a proposed tax on mining profits. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU) declined 2.3% to $67.98, and Rio Tinto PLC (RTP, RIO.LN) dropped 4% to $48.99. European financial companies traded lower as worries about debt continued to weigh on the sector. U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers said Wednesday that the European debt crisis was negatively impacting the U.S. recovery as they kept interest rates on hold at ultra-low levels and signaled rates are likely to say low for some time. Decliners included Switzerland-based Credit Suisse Group (CS, CSGN.VX), down 4.3% at $38.39, and U.K.-based Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN), down 4.1% at $17.22. National Bank of Greece SA (NBG, ETE.AT) fell 3.8% to $2.28 as it said Thursday it has issued EUR3 billion ($3.7 billion) in covered bonds to optimize the use of its balance sheet and develop contingent liquidity. Meanwhile, the Union of Greek Banks said that 2010 will continue to be a challenging year for the local sector but the banking system will be able to weather the storm. After selling the bulk of its U.K. life insurance business, French insurer AXA SA (AXAHY, CS.FR) Thursday reiterated it may use some of the cash proceeds to bolster existing operations and fund takeovers if the right opportunity comes up. Earlier Thursday, Europe's second-largest insurer by market value agreed to sell part of its life business to U.K. consolidation vehicle Resolution Ltd (RSL.LN) as part of a GBP2.75 billion deal that will give AXA EUR1.75 billion in net cash proceeds. Shares slid 3.1% to $16.30. The Latin-American index dropped 1.9% to 350.67. Worries about European banks contaminated trading in their Brazilian counterparts, with the country's top banks posting losses despite little or no direct exposure to European woes. Recently, largest private bank Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB, ITUB4.BR) declined 2.7% to $19.19, while No. 2 private bank Banco Bradesco SA (BBD, BBDC4.BR) fell 2.4% to $16.93. The emerging-markets index fell 1.8% to 291.98. Goldman Sachs maintained its neutral rating on Indian bank ICICI Bank (IBN, 532174.BY), but cut its target price on the Asian-listed shares to "reflect earnings revision, higher book values for subsidiaries and equity capital on Bank of Rajasthan (500019.BY) merger." The firm also cut its earnings forcasts for the next three years to factor in lower net interest income assumptions "as its margin expansion will likely be limited on rising bulk borrowings cost." Shares slid 2.9% to $37.48. The Asian index declined 1.6% to 118.60. Chinese solar stocks were among the weakest performers Thursday, with Solarfun Power Holdings Co. (SOLF) down 6.3% at $7.39 and Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) down 5.2% at $17.61. Analysts noted that it's typical for the group to underperform on weaker days, and Thursday's slump was likely more of the same. Telecommunications operator China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (CHU, 0762.HK) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) are in talks about offering the iPhone 4 and the iPad in China, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday. But shares slipped 1.5% to $13.06 on broader market worries and as investors awaited further details. -By Shara Tibken, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2189; shara.tibken@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 24, 2010 16:52 ET (20:52 GMT)