MEXICO CITY - The Mexican stock market representes a good opportunity for foreign investors even if the economy is currently in a period of downturn, due to the favorable environment created by the structural reform process in Mexico, said analyst Ivan Barona.

Barona, chief of analyst at GBMHomebroker online trading, said that "for the last couple of years we have a retarded performance compared to the international markets. Lets remember that the IPC had an adjustement of just 2% during 2013 while the Standard & Poors and the U.S. markets had results closer to 30%."

"We believe that this retardation will be compensated in part with the structural reforms and the adecuate handling of the secondary laws once they are inplemented. All this should create an economic growth bigger than 2% in the long run. This becomes an interesting oportunity for investors even if the economic improvements are expected for the second half of the year", added Barona.

Another favorable factor is the strong influence of U.S. economy over Mexico, and since the data shows an inprovement there, "Mexico should be benefiting from both internal and external factors".

Barona spoke during the celebration of the First Traders Day in the offices of the Mexican Stock Market, hosting live trading sessions and the presentation of GMBHomebroker as an online tool for investment.

Javier Martinez, designer of the online platform, added that just about 200.000 people, less than 2% of the population, are currently investing in Mexican stocks, compared with other nations.

n that sense, "there are pleny of tools available and information showing the interest gathered around the world for Mexican stocks. So, the idea is to promote in home investments in that area, while at the same time procure a bigger interaction with foreing investors, specially those in the U.S."