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Mexican stocks sink on oil
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March 16, 1998: 6:09 p.m. ET
Toronto, Venezuela end higher despite petroleum's new 9-year low
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Equities markets in the western hemisphere ended mixed Monday, with Toronto and Caracas gaining ground while growing concern over falling oil prices drove Mexican stocks lower.
The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 Composite Index followed Wall Street and the banking sector to rise 42.84 points, or 0.58 percent, ending at 7,427.90.
By comparison, the widely watched Dow Jones industrial average closed at 8,718.85, up 116.33.
Nine of Toronto's 14 sub-indexes traded higher, led by a 1.1 percent gain in the heavily weighted financial services sector and a similar gain in the utilities sector. Industrial products and merchandising also showed healthy gains.
Bucking the trend were the oil and gas sector, which fell 0.6 percent, and the gold sector, which fell 0.5 percent.
The Mexican bourse reversed modest opening gains to close 1.29 percent lower Monday as concerns over continuing drops in crude oil prices weighed on a thin-volume market.
"Cash flow is very thin, many investors are waiting to see what will happen over oilprices," a desk trader said. "Everyone in the market is keenly awaiting developments."
The leading IPC index closed down 61.57 points, or 1.29 percent, at 4,723.84 on thin volume and light turnover.
The Mexican government last year derived some 40 percent of its revenues from its monopoly on oil production, and has not ruled out additional budget cuts if the market's current weakness continues.
Venezuelan stocks continued last week's late rebound, gaining 28.54 points, 0.38 percent, to close at 7,484.75 despite the day's bad news for oil prices.
Brazil stocks closed higher, led by surges in steel stocks as prices fended off early equities liquidation with help from Wall Street's upward momentum.
"The bolsa saw some [selling] but it defended itself and there were strong rises in second-tier shares, especially the steel sector," said a trader at Crefisul, a local brokerage.
Sao Paulo's Bovespa index of 51 most-traded stocks ended up 0.30 percent at 11,601 points on strong turnover of 811 million reals ($718 million). 
-- from staff and wire reports
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