ADR Report-Foreign shares rise, lifted by European banks

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - Overseas shares traded in the United States rose on Monday, boosted by European bank, as bullish comments by an influential U.S. analyst sparked hopes for strong earnings in the sector.

The stock of U.S. bank Goldman Sachs (GS.N) jumped 5.4 percent to $149.57 after Meredith Whitney upgraded it to "buy" from "neutral." On comments to CNBC television, Whitney, known for a bearish stance on financial stocks, said Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) could do well in the second quarter. For details, see [ID:nBNG121776].

New York-traded shares of Deutsche Bank (DB.N) rose 4.9 percent to $64.13, while those of Madrid-based Santander (STD.N) gained 2.7 percent to $11.81.

The Bank of New York Mellon index of leading American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) .BKADR added 1.6 percent, while the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX climbed 1.8 percent. The 30-share Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 1.7 percent.

The three major regional ADR indexes --Europe .BKEUR, Latin America .BKLA and Asia .BKAS -- rose, with Europe leading with a 2.2 percent gain, while Asia lagged with a more modest advance of just 0.5 percent.

Overnight in Asia, major markets had their worst session in months. Japan's Nikkei .N225 tumbled 2.6 percent to hit an 8-week closing low, weighed by political uncertainty, after news that Prime Minister Taro Aso is set to call a general election late next month.

Hong Kong shares dropped to a seven-week low while Seoul's main index had its worst percentage slide in four months, and Taiwan's benchmark stock index marked its worst percentage drop in three months.

The Bank of New York Mellon index of leading Latin American ADRs .BKLA rose 1.1 percent. In Latin America, major benchmarks rose slightly with Sao Paulo's Bovespa .BVSP and Mexico's IPC .MXX up less then 0.5 percent each. (Editing by Jan Paschal)