América Móvil, owned by Carlos Slim, was not only the IPC issuer that increased the most in 2021, but it is also the company with the most weight within the stock index, with 15.43%.
“América Móvil completed transactions during the year which allowed generating a better expectation and attracting investors. The sale of Tracfone Wireless, América Móvil’s business in the United States, to Verizon, ”said Karla Bajos, Economic Analyst at Banco Base.
Another reason for the progress this year is that the Mexican stock market lagged behind developed markets.
“We had seen a loose monetary policy, with interest rates of up to 4% and with real rates (discounting inflation) compressed. This was a global phenomenon for which the capitals are forced to look for better options ”, commented Walter Buchanan, director of investments in SaveNest.
Throughout the year, 20 of the 54 most-operated stations in the market managed to set record levels.
The companies that fell apart
IEnova, Santander and Lala became important issuers in the Mexican stock market, to the point of belonging to the IPC, an index that includes the 35 most important and stock market shares in the country.
The three companies are some of the names that decided, this year, to delist or start the process to stop trading on the Mexican stock exchanges.
“The Mexican market is facing a difficult situation. In the last 20 years there has been a contraction of 16.28% in the number of companies listed. The weakness of the Mexican stock market occurs in a context of uncertainty, which tends to drive investors away, ”said Bajos.
Fewer listed companies impact investors, as they have fewer possibilities to diversify their portfolio.
“Let’s not forget that the Mexican market weighs less than 1% of all public companies in the world, so you have to be careful with the home bias (when everything is invested in Mexico). If we diversify globally, we have access to more sectors, such as technology, healthcare and others, ”said Buchanan. Added to this is an exposure to the exchange rate.
At the moment, the outlook for the IPC is bullish. For December 2022, analysts have an average of 56,446 units for the IPC, even some forecasts, such as Banorte and Monex, expect 58,000 points, according to the survey ‘Market sentiment’ carried out by the Mexican Association of Stock Market Institutions (AMIB ).
The positive bias does not relieve the market of some pressure. “2022 will be a year with greater challenges than it was 2021, mainly due to a global tightening of monetary policy. The withdrawal of stimuli as a result of the pandemic will be gradual and in 2022 it will be more marked, “said Rodríguez.