Venezuela stock market reopens up 10.43 pct

Reuters, 01.27.03, 10:54 AM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Venezuela's stock market, restarting trading after an eight-week suspension during an opposition strike, jumped 10.43 percent Monday due to the impact of foreign exchange adjustments on market leaderCANTV <TDVd.CR> (nyse: VNT - news - people), the country's biggest telecoms company, traders said.

The Caracas stock index <.IBC> rose 836.22 points to 8,851.39 points from the 8,015.17 points close it had registered last Nov. 29, the last trading day before the strike started Dec. 2. The strike shuttered operations at the Caracas exchange.

Exchange authorities decided last week to restart stock trading which had been suspended during the 57-day-old strike. The strike was launched by foes of leftist President Hugo Chavez to demand that he resign and hold early elections. The strike, which has slashed the country's vital oil exports, is continuing.

Traders said that Monday's rise was due to a 22.68 percent gain by CANTV, whose shares are also traded in dollar-denominated ADRs on the New York Stock Exchange. In Caracas, the telecoms company's stock traded at 3,024 bolivars a share, while in New York the ADRs were trading at $10.64 each.

Battered by the impact of the crippling opposition strike, Venezuela's bolivar currency has fallen 28 percent against the U.S. dollar since the start of the strike and the government has suspended currency trading prior to introducing foreign exchange controls.