The peso fell on Wednesday after advancing to levels not seen since July of last year, while the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) recorded new historical highs, in a session of reduced liquidity on the eve of the Christmas celebration.
The day was marked by the release of figures showing that applications for unemployment benefits in the United States decreased by 10,000 during the week ending December 20, for a seasonally adjusted figure of 214,000. Economists expected claims to be at 224,000.
The peso was trading at 17.9319 per dollar shortly after noon, with a depreciation of 0.21%, although consolidating below the key barrier of 18 units.
At the local level, labor data was also released, although they outlined a less optimistic scenario than that of the United States: according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), Mexico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose last month to 2.7% from the 2.6% reported in October.
“November’s results reinforce the signs of a gradual moderation of the labor market towards the end of 2025, which remains in line with the low growth in economic activity observed in the year,” said Monex Grupo Financiero.
Peso retreats in a session of limited business; BMV sets new record
The stock market, meanwhile, reached a new milestone in a day that lasted shorter than usual.
The benchmark S&P/BMV IPC index rose a marginal 0.03% to 65,616.43 points, a new historical closing record, although during the day it rose to 65,722.96 units.
The day recorded a volume of just 16,400,000 shares traded, well below the daily average of recent months close to 200,000,000.
The titles of the department store chain El Puerto de Liverpool led the increases, with 2.66% more to 103.43 pesos, followed by those of the restaurant operator Alsea, which added 1.75% to 55.77 pesos.
Outside the index, the Ollamani papers, owned by businessman Emilio Azcárraga, gained 2.08% to 82.83 pesos after he announced the day before that he formed an alliance with the American investment fund General Atlantic.
In the secondary debt market, the 10-year bond yield fell three basis points to 8.96%, on the contrary the 20-year rate rose seven, to 9.61%.
With information from Reuters.
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