Mexican stocks rose to a third straight record high close on Friday, buoyed by expectations of healthy quarterly corporate earnings. The IPC stock index finished up 0.32 percent at 27,933.07 points, after climbing as high as 28,005 earlier. "That's a healthy technical reaction, above all after this positive week of historic highs," said one trader in Mexico City.
The IPC index has gained 5.6 percent so far in 2007, much of that in the past two weeks. In stock trading, bottling company Femsa added 1.86 percent to 139.16 pesos and its New York-traded stock rose 2.44 percent to $127.50. Bear Stearns raised its price target for Femsa's American stock to $160 on Thursday, saying it appears to be trading at a discount to its peers.
Mexican companies that trade on the stock market have until February 27 to report results for the October-December quarter and many analysts expect to see strong growth. Retailer Soriana picked up 1.85 percent to finish at 94.84 pesos. Mining company Group Mexico was one of the market's main decliners, down 2.09 percent to 45.46 pesos as US copper futures tumbled to a 10-month low. Mexican markets will be closed on Monday due to a national holiday.
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