Mexican stocks ended lower on Friday, hurt by losses on Wall Street, as investors sold shares in cement maker Cemex despite a healthy earnings report. The IPC benchmark stock index lost 0.57 percent to 11.995.32 points, while the Dow Jones industrial average was off 0.60 percent. "The bourse is following markets in the United States," one trader said.
Shares of Cemex shed 3.84 percent to 75.79 pesos after it posted a 43 percent jump in first-quarter net profit, reflecting its $5.8 billion take-over of Britain's RMC, the world's top ready mix concrete maker.
Mexican home builder Homex fell just over 6 percent to 42.52 pesos on the local bourse while its shares on Wall Street dropped 6.66 percent to $22.98 after the company announced a deal late Thursday to acquire smaller rival Casas Beta for about $194 million.
"There was a lack of information about the transaction, but more than that the take-over appeared expensive to me, and it does not make much sense," said one analyst who requested anonymity.
Since the Mexican stock market rose to an all-time high in early March, shares have declined about 14 percent because of rising interest rates and concerns about growing political tensions ahead of the 2006 presidential election.
Analysts say markets are likely to remain volatile until political tensions subside and interest rates slow their rise.
In the foreign exchange market, the peso dipped 0.17 percent to 11.047 after the central bank left monetary policy unchanged at its twice-monthly review.
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