Latin American stocks rose on Friday as investors bet that the US Congress will reach an agreement to avert a debt default. President Barack Obama and congressional Republican leaders inched toward resolving their fiscal impasse on Friday, but struggled to agree on the length and terms of a short-term deal to increase the US debt limit and reopen the government.
Mexico's benchmark IPC index gained 1.2 percent, boosted by a 2.62 percent rise in shares of telecom company America Movil. The index is still down more than 6 percent this year. Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index gained 0.29 percent, supported on Friday by gains in miner Vale, which saw shares rise 1.51 percent. Reuters reported on Friday that Vale has revived talks with Glencore Xstrata over a potential combination of the mining groups' nickel operations in Canada's Sudbury basin, to cut costs as prices for the metal languish. Chile's main index rose 0.46 percent on gains in retailer Cencosud.