Mexican stocks end flat

Mexican stocks ended near flat on Friday, weighed by a dip in house builder Homex but supported by gains in miner Group Mexico, and the peso gained after the central bank left its monetary policy unchanged. The IPC benchmark stock index slid 0.08 percent to 13,214.60 points, while the peso firmed 0.17 percent to 10.8615 per dollar. Group Mexico, the world's No 2 producer of copper by reserves, added 1.56 percent to 52.89 pesos.
Southern Peru Copper Corp, a top copper producer majority owned by Group Mexico, said on Thursday a group of shareholders sold 21 million shares for $42 a share in a secondary offering.
Homex, which specialises in building low-cost housing for the country's working class, lost 3.58 percent to finish at 45.22 pesos.
Homex and competitors like Ara and Urbi have been popular stocks in recent months amid a housing boom fed by increased mortgage credit.
The IPC index was virtually unchanged for the week following strong gains in May amid expectations of continued incremental rises in US interest rates.
"We think it could rise a bit, but US markets aren't helping at all," said Juan Carlos Flores, a broker at Vector brokerage.
Earlier in the day, Mexico's central bank made no change in monetary policy amid expectations it would soon end a 15-month cycle of tightening credit conditions. Many analysts expect the bank to hold off until its June 24 inflation review to signal the end of the tightening cycle.
Cellphone operator America Movil, the most heavily weighted stock in the IPC index, moved down 0.52 percent to 30.82 pesos. Its New York-traded shares were off 0.39 percent to $56.75.
Fixed-line telephone company Telefonos de Mexico was the most active issue, rising 0.10 percent to 9.95 pesos. Its American Depositary Receipts firmed 0.27 percent to $18.33.