Global Markets and Economic Update

MEXICAN STOCKS

* The market ignored Wall Street’s rally and closed sharply lower Tuesday, depressed about the likelihood of higher interest rates in the near term. The Bolsa index slumped 31.34 points to 2,234.15, after Monday’s 145-point plunge. The index now is at its lowest level since late November.

* Traders fear that the surge in U.S. interest rates over the past week will mean sharply higher Mexican rates at the government’s weekly note auction today. Also, gloom among domestic investors over the recent assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio, the ruling PRI party’s original presidential candidate, continues to weigh on stocks, traders say.

Source: D.A. Campbell, Times wire services

SPOTLIGHT: EGYPT

The important tourism industry has been crippled because of violence by Islamic fundamentalists, and free-market policies have pushed up prices and unemployment. But Egypt, which is pursuing long-term economic reform, has some positive indicators, including a slowdown in inflation and a stable currency.

Sources: Bank of America; World Information Services