Brightbridge Wealth Management Headlines:EMERGING MARKETS-Latam stocks slide as China economy cools

http://brightbridgewealthmanagement-advice.com/2011/05/brightbridge-wealth-management-headlinesemerging-markets-latam-stocks-slide-as-china-economy-cools/
* Chinese industrial output slows as economy cools
* Investors still see inflation worries in Brazil
* Brazil Bovespa off 1.25 pct, Mexico IPC off 0.43 pct
By Luciana Lopez and Michael O’Boyle
SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY, May 11 (Reuters) – Latin American stocks slid on Wednesday as signs of slower Chinese growth signaled lower commodities demand ahead, which may spur foreign investors to dump more shares of the region’s materials producers.
The MSCI Latin American index .MILA00000PUS fell 1.16 percent in the morning after gaining in the previous session. Brazil rebounded from its lowest since July last week, but low-volume gains marked little conviction in the rise.
China’s industrial output growth eased much more than expected in April, suggesting the economy of Brazil’s top trading partner is cooling. [ID:nL3E7GB0H2]
“If China doesn’t grow the way people hoped… many investors will turn to less risky assets, which could offer more opportunities for gains,” said Raphael Martello, an economist with Tendencias Consultoria, a Sao Paulo economic research company.
Foreign investors have increasingly pulled out of emerging markets like Latin America to bet on a strengthening recovery in more developed economies, such as the United States.
Rising inflation and the risk of higher interest rates that could weigh on growth have curbed the attraction of stocks in Brazil, where the 12-month IPCA price index has breached a government ceiling of 6.5 percent, Martello said.
Also hurting demand for riskier assets, a euro zone sovereign debt crisis has kept global investors jittery, with rumors flying of a possible restructuring of Greek debt. [ID:nLDE74A16A]
“That never really leaves the agenda,” Martello said.
Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa stock index .BVSP fell 1.25 percent, led by losses in heavyweight commodities companies.
Technical signals continued to paint a gloomy picture for the index, which traded below several key simple moving averages. The Bovespa’s moving average convergence divergence, or MACD, has now stayed persistently bearish for about a month.
Shares of mining giant Vale (VALE5.SA), the world’s largest producer of iron ore, fell 1.73 percent, as state-controlled energy giant Petrobras (PETR4.SA) gave up 1.42 percent.
Brasil Foods (BRFS3.SA) slid 1.28 percent, extending the 7.13 percent loss in the previous session on worries that Brazilian antitrust regulators could impose stricter conditions on the merger that created the company. [ID:nN11106574]
Limiting losses, beef producer JBS (JBSS3.SA) rose 2.67 percent after the company reported a jump in first-quarter net profit.
Mexico’s IPC index .MXX slid 0.43 percent to 35,522 points, potentially snapping a two-day streak of gains.
Technical signals pointed to uncertainty, with a fall below 35,000 boding for a deeper correction, analysts said.
A rise above 36,200, the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of the gauge’s slump from an early April high to a May low, could mean the index will see further gains.
Mining company Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX) fell 1.55 percent, as telecommunications company America Movil (AMXL.MX) dipped 0.69 percent.
Chile’s IPSA index .IPSA edged up 0.08 percent, buoyed by banking shares.
Shares of Sociedad Matriz del Banco de Chile CHI_pb.SN rose 3.29 percent, with BCI BCI.SN advancing 0.74 percent.