Mexican stocks decline on profit-taking

05 Sep, 2004

The profit-taking hit Mexican stocks on Friday after three consecutive gains by the bourse while the peso lost ground on Friday amid high dollar demand ahead of the long US Labour Day holiday weekend.
Walmex was one of the top 10 decliners in the session, closing down 2.22 percent to 36.99 pesos, although still near 12-month highs.
No 2 broadcaster TV Azteca was another Mexican blue chip that fell, taking the country's benchmark IPC stock index down 0.84 percent to 10,335.01 points at the close.
"We are recommending profit-taking in some stocks that have risen a lot lately," said Juan Carlos Flores, of Vector brokers, mentioning Walmex as one of the profit-taking picks.
TV Azteca dropped 1.20 percent to 6.6 pesos while its American Depositary Receipts ADRs fell 2.46 percent to $9.12.
Also on a downward track was America Movil, one of the biggest cellphone operators in Latin America, off 1.06 percent to 19.63 pesos per share. Its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) fell 1.39 percent to $34.00.
Bucking the declining trend was chemical and textile firm Cydsa, which said this week it would propose to shareholders a capital increase of $169 million and $25.5 million in new debt to restructure its ailing balance sheet.
In light trading, Cydsa jumped 8.57 percent to 3.8 pesos. Cydsa, in default on interest on $159 million in debt since December 2002, said it would hold a shareholders' meeting on September 15 to put forward the proposals. The peso fell 0.17 percent, or 1.9 centavos, against the US dollar to 11.509 pesos, as investors covered their shorts before the long weekend in the United States. US markets will be closed on Monday for Labour Day.
Mexico's currency dropped 1.08 percent in the week against the greenback. It has lost 2.41 percent so far this year.

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