Mexican stocks finished higher on Friday, led by blue chip retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico in a volatile session. The IPC benchmark stock index rose 0.69 percent to 12,883.46 points, after falling to as low as 12,731 points earlier in the day. The peso was flat at 10.96 per dollar, although it had gained about half a percent over the week. "The stock market has become cheap after the sell-off seen in recent months," said Carlos Hermosillo, an analyst at Vector brokerage in Mexico City. Mexican stocks dropped about 15 percent through March and part of April, in part because of concerns about rising interest rates, but since then the market has regained almost 10 percent.
Earlier this week, a report showing tamer-than-expected US inflation, which could make Mexican assets more attractive, gave a boost to stocks.
On Friday, stock in dominant retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico rallied 1.93 percent to 41.28 pesos, helped by news the day before that Mexican retail sales rose 4.4 percent in March, beating expectations.
America Movil, the most heavily weighted stock in Mexico's IPC index, picked up 0.52 percent to 30.86 pesos per share, and its New York-traded stock added 0.68 percent to $56.41.
Investors are waiting for America Movil to announce whether it will bid to take a stake in Spanish mobile-phone license holder Xfera. Other companies have also expressed interest in Xfera.
Last week, America Movil decided not to bid for a phone frequency in Spain but said it was still interested in the home market of its rival Telefonica.
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