ADRs in Focus: Asian Banks

On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley posted a 61 percent drop in quarterly profit, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said earnings declined by 11 percent, but still beat expectations. On Monday, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. posted a stunning fiscal second-quarter $2.8 billion loss--its first since going public in 1994.

In afternoon trading, ICICI Bank Ltd. declined 70 cents to $35.63; HDFC Bank Ltd. shed 86 cents to $83.26; and Shinhan Financial Group Co. declined 27 cents to $92.25.

Westpac Banking Corp. shed $3.01, or 2.9 percent, to $99.70, Woori Finance Holdings Co. declined $1.28, or 2.4 percent, to $52.27, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. declined 28 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $9.55.

The Bank of New York Asia ADR Index, which tracks shares of companies based in China, India, Australia and elsewhere, declined 0.13 points to 158.19. ADR stands for American Depositary Receipt, which is a security designed to allow U.S. investors trade shares of companies based overseas.

The broader Bank of New York Composite ADR Index gave up 0.38 points to 172.24 as U.S. markets were higher.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average sank 2.23 percent.