Mexico Stock Index Climbs to Record on U.S. Economic Recover

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By Tal Barak Harif and Veronica Navarro Espinosa

Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Mexican stocks rose to a record as a report showing factory orders in the U.S. beat forecasts signaled increased demand for the Latin American country’s exports.

The Bolsa index increased 0.9 percent to 33,048.14 at 12:37 p.m. in New York. Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB, Latin America’s largest retailer, gained 2.3 percent to 60.95 pesos. Cemex SAB, the largest cement maker in the Americas, climbed 1.2 percent to 16.1 pesos.

Factory orders in the U.S. rose in November more than twice as much as anticipated, led by gains in demand for business equipment that indicate companies are boosting spending and production, according to figures from the Commerce Department. The U.S. is Mexico’s largest trading partner.

“The expectations for an economic recovery in the U.S., a country that has a very strong correlation with Mexico, and the outlook for a global economic recovery are pushing the stock market,” said Gonzalo Fernandez, a strategist at Banco Santander SA in Mexico City.

Mexico’s Bolsa may climb to 38,000 by the end of the year, Fernandez said.

Mexico was the hardest hit in Latin America by the recession in the U.S., the buyer of 80 percent of the country’s exports. The Bolsa trailed other markets in the region last year. It rose 44 percent, compared with an 83 percent advance for Brazil’s Bovespa index and 115 percent gain for Argentina’s Merval.