Mexican stocks and the peso currency ended near flat on Friday, reversing losses triggered by weak US jobs data and worries about the health of the euro zone's weakest economies. The peso edged up 0.02 percent to 13.1575 per dollar, while the IPC stock index rose 0.09 percent to 30,630.73 points.
Mexican stocks and the peso traded sharply lower for much of the session, with the peso touching its weakest level in three months, before stocks on Wall Street turned around with traders saying the sell-off had been overdone.
Mexican traders said local markets followed Wall Street's lead. Earlier in the day, data showed US employers unexpectedly cut 20,000 jobs in January, hurting the outlook for Mexican exports to the United States.
At the same time, investors shed higher-risk assets world-wide as European policymakers scrambled to reassure markets about the stability of the 16-member currency bloc. A debt crisis in Greece has sent shock waves through financial markets and stoked fears of social unrest in the country. Meanwhile, Portugal lawmakers backed a law that may widen its swollen fiscal deficit.
The yield on Mexico's benchmark 10-year government peso bond was up 3 basis points to 7.76 percent. In stock trading, America Movil ended unchanged at 29.27 pesos per share. The company, controlled by Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, this week posted a 17.2 percent drop in fourth-quarter net income, missing analysts' expectations, as it reported higher income taxes paid in the quarter. Wal-Mart de Mexico fell 1.39 percent to 55.96 pesos.
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