Friday, August 27, 2010

MEXICO: Mexico's Cemex Tumbles Most in Seven Months on U.S. Home Sales



Cemex SAB, the largest cement maker in the Americas, dropped the most in seven months in Mexico City trading after plunging sales of existing U.S. homes signaled cement demand may miss expectations.
Cemex dropped as much as 7.2 percent to 9.83 pesos, the most since Jan. 27. Shares were 4.6 percent lower at 10.10 pesos at 12:44 p.m. New York time.
Sales of U.S. previously owned homes dropped 27 percent in July, twice as much as forecast, to a 3.83 million annual pace, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington.
“These figures suggest the recovery will be slower than expected,” Gonzalo Fernandez, a Mexico City-based analyst with Banco Santander SA, said in a telephone interview.
Demand for single-family houses dropped to a 15-year low and the number of homes on the market swelled, the report showed. Economists projected sales would fall 13 percent from June’s previously reported 5.37 million pace.
Cemex is the company in Mexico’s benchmark IPC stock index with greatest exposure to the U.S. economy, according to Fernandez.

No comments: