Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 4:45 PM EST (Thomson Financial): Latin
American shares broadly turned around, following losses posted across the
board yesterday. Investors are still anticipating tomorrow's release of the
U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. The Fed is widely
expected to raise rates by 25 basis points.
Brazil's Bovespa Index jumped 458.92 points, or 1.34%. Mexico's
benchmark Bolsa rose 80.36 points, or 0.45%, while Argentina's Merval Index
rallied 33.53 points, or 2.10%.
Brazilian issues bounced back today, as investors cheered a benign
inflation report released by the Central Bank. For its second-quarter
inflation report, the bank raised its estimate for the IPCA inflation index
to 3.8% for 2006 from 3.7%. For 2007, the index was lifted to 4.2% from
3.9%.
State-controlled Banco do Brasil rallied on its first day of trading on
the Novo Mercado Mechanism on the Bovespa. Brazil's largest bank completed
the sale of 45.44 million common shares today, which raised 1.97 billion
reais before migrating its shares to the Novo Mercado Mechanism.
Turning to brokerage notes, a large investment house raised its
earnings estimates for Petrobras and its Argentine unit Petrobras Energia,
as the bank expects oil prices will continue to rise.
Wireless provider Vivo was removed from a major investment bank's focus
list, partly due to disappointing earnings and guidance, and replaced with
rival Tim Participacoes.
In deal news, Colombia's Interconnexion Electrica, or ISA, bought a
controlling share in Brazil's electric power transmission firm Cteep for
1.19 billion reais at an auction on the Bovespa.
Mexican shares witnessed more muted gains on the day, as investors
await Sunday's tight presidential election. Trading volume was low and is
expected to remain so until after the elections.
Argentina bounced back from yesterday's declines alongside broader
regional gains. There were few economic or corporate reports to direct
trading activity.
-- Linda.Shea@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
our reports. If you have any questions please e-mail James Sang at
james.sang@tfn.com or call 646.822.6233. For more information about Thomson
Financial, please visit our web site at http://www.thomsonfinancial.com.
SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
back to top
