Thursday, May 4, 4:45 PM EDT (Thomson Financial): Latin American stocks
were mixed to higher, with Brazilian shares rising on tame inflation data
and Mexico's bolsa getting a boost from continued earnings enthusiasm. On
the down side, Argentine issues dipped on continued profit taking.
Brazil's Bovespa Index added 56.02 points, or 0.14%. Mexico's benchmark
Bolsa Index rose 134.50 points, or 0.64%, while Argentina's Merval Index
shed 7.39 points, or 0.40%.
Brazilian shares edged up, as tame inflation data added to expectations
that Brazilian interest rates will continue to fall. The Fipe research
foundation said its consumer price index for Sao Paulo city rose just 0.1%
in April, compared with an increase of 0.14% in March.
In other data, the National Confederation of Industries reported that
seasonally adjusted use of industrial capacity in Brazil dipped to 81.1% in
March from 81.2% the previous month and 82.3% a year earlier.
Investors continued to eye developments in Bolivia's move to
nationalize its oil and gas industry. Petrobras said yesterday that it was
abandoning plans for further investment in Bolivia and will look for
"alternative" supplies. Today, the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia
and Venezuela met at a summit in Argentina to discuss Bolivia's
nationalization move. Some investors fear that an increase in Bolivian gas
prices could fuel Brazilian inflation.
In earnings news, wireless giant Vivo posted a first-quarter net loss
of 179.3 million reals, reversing a year-ago profit of 42.1 million reals.
It was the first quarterly report for the company since it restructured in
December.
Also reporting, petrochemical firm Braskem said its first-quarter net
profit fell to 122 million reals from 206 million reals a year earlier, due
to a continued appreciation of the real against the dollar during the
period.
Meanwhile, electric power utility Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais
SA (Cemig) posted a quarterly net profit of 339.8 million reals, down 39%
from 554.7 million reals a year ago.
Elsewhere, Mexican shares rose to their fourth-straight record closing
high, as investors continued to cheer robust first-quarter earnings,
including positive results from the likes of America Movil and Grupo Mexico
earlier this week.
Reporting today, Mexican state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex)
posted an after-tax gain of 7.80 billion pesos in the first quarter. The
company added that its pre-tax profit rose 21% from the year-earlier period
to 150.20 billion pesos on a 19% increase in sales to 241.40 billion pesos.
In other news, America Movil said it expects to close on the
acquisition of Verizon Communications' Latin American assets this year.
Meanwhile, cement-maker Cemex said it plans to sell a 24.9% stake in
Indonesia's state-run cement producer PT Semen Gresik to privately-held
Rajawali Group for US$337 million.
Argentine issues declined for a second straight day, as investors
continued to take profits in shares of Merval-heavyweight Tenaris following
the company's recent upbeat earnings report.
On the economic front, Argentina's national statistics agency said the
consumer price index rose 1.0% in April from March. That was a smaller
increase than the month-on-month rise of 1.2% in March.
-- Paul.Davee@thomson.com; Thomson Financial Corporate Services
This is Thomson Financial Corporate Services Latin American Commentary.
The information herein is believed to be true and accurate, we take no
responsibility for inaccurate information and reserve the right to update
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SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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