Friday, June 30, 2006, 4:45 PM EST (Thomson Financial): Latin American
issues once again advanced broadly on the session, with Mexico taking the
lead ahead of Sunday's highly anticipated presidential election.
Brazil's Bovespa Index rose 143.99 points, or 0.39%. Mexico's benchmark
Bolsa leapt 238.84 points, or 1.26%, while Argentina's Merval Index
advanced 21.44 points, or 1.27%.
Brazilian issues continued to move higher, although at a more modest
pace after yesterday's rally. Investors continued to cheer, after
indications yesterday that the U.S. Federal Reserve may soon be ready to
freeze rates following 17 consecutive hikes.
In economic reports, the central bank said the country's primary budget
surplus came in at a stronger than expected 6.3 billion reais in May, down
from a record surplus of 19.43 billion reais the prior month. The latest
result brought the 12-month figure to 89.89 billion reais, or 4.51% of
gross domestic product.
Within the mobile phone space, Vivo Participacoes declined sharply,
after it said it will invest in rolling out a GSM platform by the end of
2006, but will be fully operational in three year's time. Investors fear
the endeavor will be costly; although, financial details were not released.
Flat steelmaker Usiminas reported in a regulatory filing that it
expects to produce 4.2 million metric tons of crude steel and log sales
volume of 3.9 million tons.
Mexican shares continued to move upward today, as the country awaits
Sunday's presidential election, which is seen as a tight race between
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Felipe Calderon.
In economic news, the Finance Ministry said the government's budget
surplus was 21.3 billion pesos in May, thank to higher oil sales and tax
collections. The accumulated budget surplus was 107.7 billion pesos.
Argentine issues jumped for the third-straight session; although,
volume was thin amidst World Cup soccer, where Argentina lost to Germany.
-- 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
