Global Markets and Economic Update : FOREIGN STOCK MARKETS

Stock index trends in native currencies and in dollars adjusted for currency fluctuations. The dollar-adjusted returns are what U.S. investors would realize.

MEXICAN STOCKS *The Bolsa index hit yet another record Tuesday, adding 5.95 points to 2,787.32 as foreign buyers continued to pour into Mexican stocks. So far this year, the Bolsa has surged 6.9%, overcoming a selloff sparked by the rebel uprising in Chiapas. *For phone giant Telmex, the market’s bellwether stock, bad news has quickly turned into good news. Word that MCI Communications Corp. wants to enter the Mexican phone market in 1996 has spurred expectations that Telmex will make international alliances of its own, perhaps with AT&T.; Telmex traded at a record $75 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday and closed at $74, up 50 cents. Source: D.A. Campbell; Times wire services

SPOTLIGHT: CHINA The economy is expected to continue to grow at a fast pace despite measures to cool it. Inflation, which has been at double digits in major cities, corruption in government and the new private sector, and wide economic disparities among regions remain major problems for the government to tackle. Sources: Bank of America; World Information Services