Mexican stocks ended lower on Friday, weighed by losses in telephone company Telmex and cement maker Cemex.
The IPC benchmark stock index lost 0.20 percent to end at 10,240.84 points on light volume of 42 million shares.
Traders said that in the absence of Mexican corporate news they took their cue from US stocks, which fell following news of a sharp slump in the pace of US job hiring last month. "The market basically followed the behaviour of US markets," said Jesus Viveros, an analyst at Bursametrica consulting company. "Recent economic indicators out of the United States haven't been very favourable."
Cemex, the world's third-largest cement producer, fell 0.96 percent to 66.24 pesos and its American Depositary Receipt (ADR) lost 0.65 percent to $28.82.
The company said on Thursday it sees 2004 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), a key performance gauge closely watched by analysts, up 11 percent from the previous year. Despite the good news, some traders said the stock was a bit overpriced. Mexico's IPC index rose 1.11 percent for the week and is up about 16 percent for the year.
Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex), one of Latin America's largest telecommunications operators, fell 1.41 percent to end at 18.85 pesos and its ADR closed 0.57 percent lower at $32.87.
The company had gained strongly earlier in the week after it said on Monday it plans to buy a stake in Brazilian cable TV and Internet firm Net for up to $370 million.