NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Brazil's benchmark, the Bovespa index, gained 2 percent based in part on enthusiasm for technology shares, and in Mexico, the IPC index continued to rise in a pre-presidential election rally, this time 1.67 percent higher.
In Canada the markets got prepared for the long Canada Day holiday weekend while the Toronto Stock Exchange's 300 composite index reached an intraday record high before closing with a 0.83 percent gain.
Brazil surfs the turf
Brazilian shares rode high on Friday, gaining 2 percent, as a wave of enthusiasm for technology shares pushed up telecommunications plays, traders said.
The benchmark Bovespa index gained 321 points to close at 16,728, led higher by telephone companies Tele Celular Sul and Telesp Celular. A 2.3 percent gain in the U.S. tech-heavy Nasdaq index buoyed local trading.
"This was all about the external markets," said Antonio Machado, senior trader at Opportunity brokerage in Rio de Janeiro. "We were following the Nasdaq."
Enthusiasm for technology stocks, capped by a 4.7 percent gain in Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica in Madrid, helped some Brazilian telephone shares.
Wireless operator Telesp Celular rose 3.5 percent to 32.60 reals. Tele Celular Sul soared 10.1 percent to 8.70 reals.
Some telecom companies gained as fund managers sought to rearrange their telecom investments on the last day of Telefonica's one-month-long buyout offer of its Brazilian units Telesp and Tele Sudeste.
For the past month, Telefonica has been swapping its own shares for stocks in Telesp and Tele Sudeste, although as yet it is not clear how many shareholders acquiesced to the swap, traders said. The Spanish company now plans to list its own shares on the Bovespa in the form of Brazilian Depositary Receipts.
Traders said investors have been moving out of Telesp and Tele Sudeste into other telecom plays, anticipating a nosedive in liquidity in the two shares, formerly heavy weights on the index. Tele Sudeste slumped 7.9 percent to 11.05 reals, although Telesp gained 1.1 percent to 33.87 reals.
Shares in jet-maker Embraer were mixed, with the company's preferred shares declining 1.3 percent, while its common shares gained 3.7 percent to 10.99 reals.
Embraer, the world's fourth-largest manufacturer of civilian aircraft, said on Friday it plans to sell 52.8 million in preferred shares, a sale that could raise about $275 million to finance future investments. Embraer's existing shareholders also plan to sell 31.2 million in preferred shares, resulting in an additional 84 million Embraer preferred shares in the market.
The shares in Brazilian bank Banespa slipped 1.9 percent to 53.98 reals after Central Bank President Arminio Fraga virtually wrote off the possibility of the bank's privatization going ahead by a July 18 target, harboring further delays in the ongoing saga.
The Bovespa rounded off the month with a gain of 11.8 percent, although it is down 2.1 percent since the start of the year. Turnover was slight, totaling 498 million reals ($277 million), well below last month's daily average of 666 million reals.
Elsewhere in the region, in Argentina, the MerVal index jumped 9.72 points to 496.90, and in Columbia the IBB index went up 1.54 points to close at 762.81.
In Chile, the IGPA index moved up 28.17 points to finish at 4,920.04. The Peruvian IGRA climbed 7.05 points to 1,486.79. The Venezuelan IBC went up 54.76 points to close at 7,032.68.
Mexico continues to rise
Mexico's IPC index of 35 leading shares rose 1.67 percent to 6,948.33 points by the close on Friday, its firmest level in over two months and just 48 hours ahead the country's presidential elections.
"We had foreseen a pre-election rally," said Jorge Suarez, an analyst with the Interacciones brokerage in Mexico City.
 "The markets seem to be a lot quieter as investors wait for the elections results," he added.
Volume on the broad Mexican market resulted in 90.13 million shares, slightly below Thursday's 94.7 million shares.
Of 82 active issues, 52 rose, 21 ended in the red and nine finished steady.
Toronto reaches record high
The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index touched a record high of 10,310 points on Friday before giving back some ground at the close in a quiet day of trading that saw many market players abandon the office early ahead of a long weekend.
The Canada Day holiday weekend will shut markets on Monday.
U.S. stock markets will open for a shortened session on Monday and will close on Tuesday for Independence Day.
 The TSE 300 Composite Index closed up 84.15 points, or 0.83 percent, to 10,195.13 on relatively light volume of 96.62 million shares worth C$2.48 billion. In the overall market, advancers beat decliners 556 to 481 with another 304 issues closing flat.
"On extremely light volume, we've got a half decent jump on the TSE 300 here. Obviously the buyers all came to work and the sellers all decided to take a hike," said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod Inc.
The blue chip S&P/TSE 60 index finished up 4.27 points, or 0.70 percent, at 617.91 points.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 49.85 points, or 0.48 percent, to 10,447.89 while the tech-rich Nasdaq composite index was up 88.89 points, or 2.29 percent, 3966.12 points.
 The TSE's key index, which has been outperforming indexes worldwide, came within 60 points of matching the level of the Dow index at one point on Friday. While analysts said it is tough to hold the indexes to a direct comparison, the narrowing of the gap has highlighted the index's strong recent performance.
"That would have been a lovely way to go into Canada Day.
It's not significant but it's a matter of national pride," Ketchen said.
The TSE 300 has lagged the Dow ever since the U.S. industrial average charged through the 5000 mark in 1995.
Overall, nine of the TSE 300's 14 subindexes finished higher, led by a 2.55-percent rise in consumer products and more than 1-percent gains in industrial products, gold, and utilities.
Biotechnology stocks fuelled the consumer products group with QLT Inc. -- second on the TSE's net gainers lister -- up C$8.25, or 7.73 percent, to end at C$115.00 while Angiotech Pharmaceuticals rising C$3.40 to C$61.40.
In industrial products, which was up 1.7 percent, Research in Motion sat atop the net gainers roster, closing C$8.65 higher at C$66.70, a gain of 14.90 percent.
The e-mail pager company basked in analysts' praise after it announced a plan to boost marketing and research spending to expand its business, despite the fact that this could dent profit projections in 2001 and 2002.
Elsewhere in that sector, market heavyweight Nortel Networks Corp ended up C$1.80 at C$102.70 after climbing as high as C$105.00, BCE Emergis was up C$6.30 at C$90.30, Ballard Power rose C$5.80 to C$134.00 and JDS Uniphase finished C$4.40 higher at C$177.10.
On the downside, financial services, media, oil and gas, transportation and pipelines ended in negative territory. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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