International companies trading in New York closed mostly lower Thursday following downbeat data for Germany and the U.K. and after the return of euro-zone sovereign-debt concerns.

The Bank of New York index of ADRs shed 0.3% to 127.04.

Coming out of the U.K. were very weak manufacturing-production data and news that the Bank of England kept its benchmark rate and its bond-buying program unchanged. In Germany, industrial production slumped 1.3% in February from a month earlier, offsetting the 1.2% increase registered the prior month.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS, RBS.LN) dropped 3.4% to $8.01, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG, LLOY.LN) declined 4% to $1.93, and BNP Paribas SA (BNPQY, BNP.FR) lost 3.5% to $21.06.

The European index closed 0.7% lower at 115.87.

British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC's (BSYBY, BSY.LN) 24-hour news channel in the U.K., Sky News, Thursday said that it has hacked emails of individuals suspected of criminal activity. Pay-television operator BSkyB is 39.1%-owned by News Corp. (NWS, NWSA, NWS.AU), which owns Dow Jones Newswires. Shares of BSkyB fell 3.7% to $40.42.

The Latin American index slipped 0.1% to 361.07.

YPF SA (YPF, YPFD.BA) fell 2.3% to $22.52 on the heels of more bad news for Argentina's biggest oil and gas company. On Wednesday, the provinces of Rio Negro and Santa Cruz said they would move to revoke concessions held by the company in an ongoing dispute over investment and production.

However the Asian index and the emerging markets index added 0.3% to 127.27 and 0.4% to 301.29, respectively.

Himax Technologies Inc. (HIMX) raised its first-quarter guidance as the fabrication-less semiconductor maker has seen strong sales in its display-driver business and growth in all its product lines, along with strength in the China market. Himax Tech surged 20% to $2.31.

-By Corrie Driebusch, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2143; corrie.driebusch@dowjones.com

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