US-listed shares of European companies fell on Friday, on fresh concerns that Greece may not immediately secure a deal to unlock access to urgently needed international aid. Euro zone finance ministers are unlikely to release a new tranche of loans to Greece on Monday as there is no agreement yet on how to make its debt sustainable but Athens is set to get two more years to cut debt, officials said.
Adding to worries, comments by President Barack Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner left investors little hope that a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" - a combination of government spending cuts and tax rises to come into effect by law in early 2013 that may cut the federal budget deficit but also tips the economy back into recession - was on the horizon. European banks were among the hardest hit. US-listed shares of Deutsche Bank fell 2.1 percent to $42.35 and Credit Suisse fell 1 percent to $22.63. New York-traded shares of UBS fell 0.8 percent at $15.08.
The BNY Mellon index of leading American depository receipts was flat, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.4 percent. The BNY Mellon index of leading European ADRs lost 0.1 percent. The BNY Mellon index of leading Asian ADRs added 0.4 percent while the BNY Mellon index of leading Latin American ADRs fell 0.3 percent. US-listed shares of Japan's Toyota Motor rose 0.5 percent to $78.73 and Nippon Telegraph gained 2.3 percent to $23.30.