By Carla Mozee

Latin American equity markets rose Friday, with sugar producer Cosan Ltd. leading advancers in Sao Paulo and helping the country's benchmark move toward its longest weekly winning streak in nearly a year.

Brazil's Bovespa rose 0.6% to 43,982.92, with shares of Cosan (CZZ) jumping 12%.

The market "has yet to realize" the positive impact that higher sugar prices and a weaker local currency will have on the sugar producer's cash generation, said Citigroup analyst Tereza Mello in a note to clients Friday.

The broker also said it's recognizing the integration advantages that come with Cosan's purchase of a fuel distribution chain in light of volatile ethanol prices at the mill.

The Bovespa's gains were limited, however, as shares of oil giant Petrobras (PBR) slipped 0.3%.

With this week's advance 5.9%, the Bovespa will mark its longest weekly winning streak since mid-April through mid-May of 2008. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) also closed with a four weeks of advances. The climb of 21% during that period is the benchmark's best win streak since 1933.

Mexico, along with Brazil, ended Friday with four consecutive winning sessions. The IPC ended the week up 3%, its second week of gains in a row.

The benchmark rose 0.2% to 20,614.59. But gains were capped in part by a 1.2% loss in shares of Cemex (CX).

The market on Friday eased back from stronger advances that followed an announcement that the Mexican central bank will use a $30 billion swap facility with the U.S. Federal Reserve. It plans on April 21 to auction $4 billion from the swap line.

Mexico's currency gained 1.5% to 13.545 pesos per U.S. dollar.

The move raises the chances that commercial banks, with guarantees from the national development bank, will draft financing packages to aid several Mexican companies looking to refinance dollar-dominated debt obligations due in 2009, said Allyson Benton, a Latin America analyst at Eurasia Group, in a note.

Cemex is one of the companies grappling with a heavy debt load, much of which it took on when the cement company purchased Australia's Rinker in 2007.

"Banxico's activities also confirm that the government is doing everything it can to avoid any direct company bailouts, and prefers to use other instruments like the Fed currency swap line to raise access to dollar-denominated credit instead," she wrote.

Benton also said from the government's view, the action is also aimed at getting the country through midterm congressional elections on July 5. Officials "will then have to reevaluate the length of its economic slowdown and the timing of its recovery, as well as the status of its beleaguered corporate sector."

The government earlier this week said it expects the economy to contract 2.8% in 2009 as the U.S., its main trading partner, continues to battle recession.

Argentina's Merval rose 5.2% on Friday, playing catch-up after the market was closed Thursday for a holiday.

Brazilian and Mexican markets were among those that surged Thursday, in part after leaders of the Group of 20 nations pledged $1.1 trillion to the International Monetary Fund and other institutions in a move to boost lending and jumpstart economic activity worldwide.

The meetings "are welcome for a world eager to see something," said Dalton Gardiman, chief economist at Banco Bradesco BBI, in a note Friday. "Nevertheless, we are concerned that for the markets, an expansive and very optimistic view with respect to the capacity of these gatherings to do something is very limited, and should be taken with a large grain of salt."

Shares of steel tube maker Tenaris SA (TS) climbed 7.7%. The Luxembourg-based company's weighting on the Merval was raised this week to 46%, up from 35% in the first quarter, as part of the benchmark's new lineup.

The Merval also posted four weeks of advances, the first time it's accomplished that since May 2008.

Chile's IPSA finished up 0.6% to 2,551.26. It edged up 0.1% for the week.

Grupo Mexico rebounds; MMX M&A talk heats up

In Mexico City, shares of Grupo Mexico led advancers with a jump of 9.7%. The copper miner said it will appeal a U.S. federal court ruling that prompted investors to send its shares plunging 15% on Thursday.

A federal court in Texas ruled that Grupo Mexico must compensate Asarco LLC for the 2003 fraudulent transfer of shares in Southern Copper Corp. (PCU) that had been held by Asarco. Asarco was purchased by Grupo Mexico in 1999, but lost operational control in the wake of Asarco's bankruptcy.

Off the Bovespa index, shares of MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA were among the most actively traded in Sao Paulo. They leaped 9.3% and surged 46.8% for the week.

In its daily securities update, Itaú Securities on Friday reinitiated coverage of the miner with an outperform rating, and said it viewed BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Chinese steelmakers "as potentially interested players" in purchasing MMX.

Earlier this week, MMX's board cleared the way for the company to hire a financial adviser as it seeks to sell all or a portion of its assets. MMX is run by billionaire Eike Batista.

On the ETF side, the iShares S&P Latin America 400 Index (ILF) rose 2.8% and surged 9.6% for the week. It's up 13.7% since the start of 2009.