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Americas all mixed up
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April 2, 1998: 5:50 p.m. ET
Venezuela, Mexico drop on oil prices; Canada, Brazil slightly higher
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Latin American markets were mixed Thursday, as Mexico and Venezuela ignored the Dow's record rally, but a strong performance in the gold sector boosted Canadian shares. Brazilian shares also finished higher.
The Mexican bourse ignored a record high close on Wall Street and ended marginally lower as investors continued their cool reaction to Tuesday's OPEC deal and awaited fresh news, dealers said.
"The oil agreement did not live up to expectations," Piero Gutierrez, research chief at the Bursamex brokerage, told Reuters.
The 35-share IPC index closed 14.98 points lower at 4,984.13.
Benchmark Brent crude closed up 26 cents per barrel at $14.29, but below highs reached last week before OPEC members met Monday and Tuesday to cut oil supplies to a flooded world market.
Low oil prices have hit Mexico's government revenues and export earnings in recent months.
Volume was dull at 55.98 million shares and turnover a slack 860 million pesos.
Gutierrez said that market interest may revive when first-quarter corporate earnings are released later in the month.
"Once companies begin to post Q1 numbers, most should look good, especially those geared to the domestic market, and that could kick-start stocks," he said. "The Bolsa's medium and long-term outlooks are still favorable."
Caracas stocks drooped to close off in slow trade as the market digested a rash of bad news -- frozen electricity rates, higher-than-expected March inflation figures and possibly slower growth, traders said.
"The market fell on the rates freeze and also the re-estimation of the amount PDVSA will pay the government ... which will slow growth," Profimerca broker Eduardo Franco said.
The bolsa's 15-share index fell 60.39 points, or 0.80 percent, to end at 7,482.66 as 42 million shares traded, worth three billion bolivars ($5.8 million). State oil company PDVSA president Luis Giusti said Thursday the company had revised this year's expected average price of its basket of crudes to $13 per barrel from $14, cutting its expected fiscal contribution by some 900 billion bolivars ($1.7 billion) to 3.8 trillion bolivars.
Oil accounts for over half of government income.
March inflation also accelerated to 2.7 percent, the Central Bank said late Wednesday, taking first quarter inflation to 7.1 percent and flying in the face of the government's 25 percent target for the year.
"The country's whole outlook has changed," Franco added.
Brazilian shares ended firmer as investors chased a handful of utility shares after the privatization auction of electricity distributor Coelce, brokers said.
The Sao Paulo bourse's 51-stock Bovespa index rose 21 points to end at 11,858. Turnover was 2.45 billion reals ($2.23 billion), of which 1.54 billion reals was related the debenture auction of Sao Paulo's Cia Paulista de Ativos, a holding covering the assets the state plans to privatize.
Toronto stocks picked up 15.54 points, or 0.21 percent, at 7,543.40 as the gold sector rallied. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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