US-listed shares of foreign companies ended higher on Friday, led by gains in European stocks on hopes of further action from the European Central Bank to fight the region's debt crisis. ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said ECB bond purchases in the sovereign debt market must be subject to strict conditionality, adding that in his view this meant a program with the euro zone's EFSF and ESM bailout funds.
Further boosting the sentiment, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke left the carrot of further stimulus measures dangling. Investors' expectations of imminent stimulus had dimmed somewhat heading into the symposium in Jackson Hole at which Bernanke said the Fed was ready to provide more stimulus if needed, but gave no signal it was imminent.
The speech coincided with data showing US consumer sentiment hit a three-month high in August and separate reports on the manufacturing sector painted a mixed picture. The European Central Bank has a policy meeting on September 6 and a German constitutional court will rule on the euro zone's permanent bailout fund on September 12, which may affect the ECB's bond-buying plans.
The BNY Mellon index of leading American depository receipts rose 0.6 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.5 percent. The BNY Mellon index of leading European ADRs gained 0.8 percent. US-listed shares of Deutsche Bank rose 4.6 percent to $35.42. The BNY Mellon index of leading Asian ADRs edged up 0.2 percent and the BNY Mellon index of leading Latin American ADRs rose 0.5 percent.