Mexico stocks gain after in-line U.S. jobs data

MEXICO CITY, July 3 (Reuters) - Mexican stocks rose on Thursday after a report on U.S. job losses in June came out in line with expectations, easing fears about the weakness of the economy in the United States, Mexico's chief trading partner.

The benchmark IPC stock index .MXX rose 0.4 percent to 28,795 while the peso MEX01 <MXN=> weakened 0.02 percent to 10.37 per dollar.

The U.S. Labor Department said employers cut 62,000 workers from payrolls in June for a sixth straight monthly decline, but this was in line with estimates, while the unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent.

Traders said that helped boost equities after two days of losses.

Good news in the United States usually bodes well for Mexico, which sends around 80 percent of its exports to its northern neighbor.

However, a separate report on U.S. jobless claims showed initial filings jumped by 16,000 last week to 404,000.

"The amount of jobless claims is worrying, it is at recession levels," said Gerardo Sienra, a stock trader at brokerage Actinver in Mexico City.

Traders said equities also were helped by the retreat of oil CLc1 prices after hitting a record above $145 a barrel.

Investors fear higher fuel costs could crimp U.S. consumer spending and prolong the slowdown in the United States, the destination of around 80 percent of Mexican exports.