MEXICO CITY: Brazil's Bovespa stock index fell to a three-week low on Friday, with shares of Petrobras pulling the bourse lower while investors profited from sharp gains in the state-run oil company earlier in the week.
Mexico's IPC index was little changed, while Chile's bourse was closed for a local holiday.
Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index shed 0.45 percent to 54,013.24, its lowest close since October 11, marking its third losing session in four.
Shares of state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA , known as Petrobras, fell 2.79 percent, contributing most to the index's losses, after having rallied on Thursday by 2.4 percent.
Even with Friday's pullback, Petrobras gained 7.41 percent this week, their best weekly performance in nearly six months, after the company put forward a new gasoline pricing model that could help boost its bottom line.
"Petrobras is going through some very positive times...so we're seeing a bit of profit-taking," said Ariovaldo Santos, a trader with H.Commcor in Sao Paulo.
Friday also marked the Bovespa index's first session after the removal of oil producer OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA , which filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday.
"Many people anticipated OGX's exclusion from the index and began rebalancing their portfolios, helping Petrobras shares rise yesterday and the day before," Santos added.
Mexico's IPC index was little changed from Thursday's close, rising 0.1 percent on a 0.64 percent gain in shares of tycoon Carlos Slim's telecoms giant America Movil. The gains barely offset a 3.3 percent decline in lender Grupo Financiero Inbursa, Slim's banking arm.
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