MEXICO CITY, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Mexico's stock index climbed as much as 4% in Friday morning trading, led by a brief 17% jump in Grupo Carso shares, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady once again.
It was the intraday biggest surge in a day since Nov. 9, 2020, when it climbed 4.41%, though the stock market pared gains later, ending up 2.97% at market close.
Grupo Carso shares soared 17% at one point in the day, prompting the stock exchange to briefly suspend trading. Shares in the conglomerate, owned by billionaire Carlos Slim, settled up 9.8% near market close, still its best day since March 2020.
Analysts said shares were helped by the expectation that the firm could benefit from the government's plans to revive the coastal town of Acapulco, which was hit by a Category 5 hurricane last month.
The Mexican peso was also up around 1% in morning trading against the dollar, later paring back slightly.
The Fed voted to keep U.S. rates steady on Wednesday, struggling to determine whether financial conditions may be tight enough already to control inflation or whether the economy needs more restraint. (Reporting by Noe Torres and Isabel Woodford; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
