By Carla Mozee
Latin American stocks rose Friday and major benchmarks moved
toward weekly advances, aided by bets that demand for regional
products and services will strengthen as the pace of U.S. job
losses begins to moderate.
Mexico's IPC rose 1.6% to 28,252, bolstered by gains in
industrial, transportation and mining issues. Shares of cement
maker Cemex (CX) surged 4.2%.
Mineral miner Autlan was the best price performer of the session
as its shares jumped 7.6%. Copper miner Grupo Mexico picked up 1.1%
and beverage maker Femsa (FMX) rose 1.5%.
Brazil's Bovespa rose 1.4% to 56,554.73, paced by manufacturing,
steel and transportation stocks. Shares of Vale (RIO), the world's
largest provider of iron ore, rose 1.4%.
Gol (GOL) surged 8.5% after the air carrier reported a 71.5%
rise in load factor in July, compared with 63.8% in June, and up
for the second month in a row.
Argentina's Merval rose 1.3%, and Chile's IPSA posted a more
modest gain of 0.3%.
Investors snapped up regional equities after the U.S. Labor
Department said the jobless rate in July unexpectedly fell to 9.4%
and U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 247,000.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected the jobless rate
to rise to 9.7%, and the economy to have lost 275,000 jobs.
Though the overall figures were "flattered" by gains in the auto
sector, the report is another sign that the recession is nearing an
end, said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets,
in a note Friday.
"However, still-high joblessness and debt burdens will keep
consumers in a funk for some time," he said.
The better-than-expected jobs report fueled a rally in Mexico's
currency, which was trading at 12.945 pesos per dollar from
Thursday's close at 13.036. Mexico's economy is closely linked with
the U.S.' because it sends roughly 80% of its products to its
neighbor.
Brazil's currency also gained ground, fetching 1.828 reals per
greenback.
Among ETF, the iShares MSCI Mexico Investable Index (EWW)
climbed 2.7%, and the iShares MSCI Brazil index (EWZ) rose
1.9%.
Inflation reports; weekly gains
Also on Friday, newly released reports from Brazil and Mexico
showed annual and monthly inflation in each country eased in
July.
Mexico's central bank said inflation on a 12-month basis rose
5.44% in July from a 5.74% rise in June. Inflation is at its lowest
level since July 2008, but remains above the central's banks annual
target of 3%, plus or minus one percentage point.
Core inflation was 5.3%, down from June's reading of 5.4%.
On a month-over-month basis, consumer prices rose 0.27%.
The IBGE statistics agency in Brazil said decreases in prices
for food contributed to an annual inflation reading of 4.5%, down
from 4.8% in the year-ago period.
The annual rate is now in line with Brazil's inflation target of
4.5%.
For the month, Brazilian consumer prices rose 0.24%, compared
with a 0.36% rise in June. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires
had expected a rise of 0.27% in July.
Turning to equity benchmarks, the Bovespa, the IPC and the
Merval are cruising toward their fourth weekly win in a row.
The Merval is up nearly 5% and the IPC is likely to be up more
than 4%. The Bovespa set to log a rise of 3%, and the IPSA's weekly
gain is set to come in around 2%.