SAO PAULO: Latin American stocks edged up slightly on Monday, largely tracking Wall Street indices, where investors looked ahead to an earnings season expected to show modest growth.
Mexico's IPC index rose 0.43 percent to 43,430.99 points. Chile's bourse rose for the first session in six, up 0.65 percent to 4,298.46 points.
Brazil's Bovespa index was flat, adding just under 0.1 percent to 55,092.31.
"After the bargain-hunting on Friday we are back to a weak market today," said Alvaro Bandeira, a partner at Orama Investimentos in Rio de Janeiro.
US stocks ended higher, having dipped earlier in the day, but investors said gains were tempered by what would likely be a slow Q1 earnings season.
In Brazil, shares of oil producer OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA, controlled by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, fell 1.75 percent. State-run rival Petroleo Brasileiro SA, known as Petrobras, dropped 2.19 percent, contributing most to the index's decline.
OGX shares are down more than 61 percent this year as short positions spiked, traders said, based on information from BM&FBovespa SA's CBLC clearinghouse. Equity analysts also cited the potential for share dilution should Batista need to bolster the troubled company's capital position.
Mexico's IPC index was up just under half a percent as a 1.62 percent loss in retailer Walmex offset a 1.78 percent gain in telecoms giant America Movil.
Chile's IPSA index snapped a five-day slide, rising 0.65 percent to 4,298.46 as shares of retailer Falabella gained 3.26 percent.
<Center><b><i>Copyright Reuters, 2013</b></i><br></center>
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