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Stocks in Americas mixed
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April 21, 1999: 4:43 p.m. ET
Mexican shares fall 1% while those in Toronto add 1.4%; Brazil markets closed
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Stock markets in the Americas turned in a mixed performance Wednesday. Exchanges in Toronto and Argentina posted the strongest gains, while the bolsa in Mexico gave up the most ground.
Brazil's financial markets were closed in celebration of the national holiday known as Tiradentes.
After briefly bounding upward Wednesday, Mexican stocks fell back into negative terrain, as players pocketed profits amid weak volume, traders said.
"We're looking at more profit-taking, now we are walking a bit away from the Dow," one trader said.
The leading IPC index closed down 53.17 points, or 1 percent, at 5,284.47. The IPC had opened in the red, but then peaked at 5,411.12.
"We're looking at a short-term bearish period, with support at 5100 points and resistance at 5,395 points," said Hector Jimenez, head of research at Inverlat brokerage.
Traders and analysts played down comments by International Monetary Fund (IMF) director Michel Camdessus on Wednesday that Mexico's inflation was too high and required monetary discipline.
"That's something everybody knows," one trader said.
In Venezuela, investors took a breather from the market's big advances over the past week.
The IBC index finished trade down 36.26 points, or 0.72 percent, at 4,992.92.
In related news, Venezuelan legislators said Wednesday that major differences still remain over a bill to grant President Hugo Chavez fast-track legislative powers to address the country's economic crisis, and that final approval would not occur before Thursday. The main sticking points include legislation that would usurp Congress' constitutional power to review all government debt issues and the national budget.
An easing of political tensions over the so-called "Enabling Law" -- and specifically, Chavez's decision not to threaten a state of emergency -- was a key factor in the gains posted on the Venezuelan Stock Exchange in the past week.
Stocks' performances on other bolsas in the region were mostly positive. Argentina's Merval Index closed up 1.53 percent at 511.42; Peru's Lima General Index rose 0.36 percent to 1,629.60; and Colombia's IBB Index added 1.02 percent to finish at 1,045.27. Shares on Chile's IGPA Index, however, were wading in red by late afternoon, trading down 0.4 percent at 4,600.50.
Toronto shares travel North
Stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange's bellwether 300 Composite Index rose 94.92 points, or 1.37 percent, to end trade at 7,020.20.
More than half of the exchange's 14 subindexes finished the day in positive territory, led by a 2.85 percent jump in industrial products, and a 1.69 percent rise in the heavily weighted financial services sector. Most of the other advancing subgroups rose more than 1 percent.
Gold and precious metals bucked the upward trend, falling 1.88 percent. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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