April 6 (Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make significant gains or losses in Latin America today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and stock prices are from the last session.

Mexico

Alfa SA (ALFAA MM): Dionisio Garza, chairman and chief executive, said Alfa is in talks with six companies to sell its steel unit Hylsamex SA (HYLSAMXB MM). Alfa, Mexico's second- largest industrial company, said while it studies the offers it will delay a transaction announced last year to give its Hylsamex shares to Alfa shareholders, Garza told journalists following the company's annual shareholders meeting yesterday. Alfa's shares fell 1.86 pesos, or 3.1 percent, to 58.98. Hylsamex's shares dropped 58 centavos, or 1.5 percent, to 37.37 pesos.

Grupo Elektra SA (ELEKTRA* MM): Mexico's largest home appliance retailer fell 4.54 pesos, or 5.2 percent, to 82.96 pesos. The company said on April 1 that it canceled 4.3 million shares and set up a $200 million fund to buy back shares. The benchmark bolsa index fell 2.3 percent.

Brazil

Cia. Energetica de Minas Gerais (CMIG4 BS): Shares of Cemig, as the country's biggest combined power distributor and generator is known, posted yesterday their biggest gain since May 11 after the electricity regulator granted a retroactive rate increase. The regulator decided Belo Horizonte, Brazil-based Cemig should have received a 44.41 percent rate increase in 2003 instead of 31.53 percent. Pedro Batista, an analyst with Banco Pactual SA, raised his rating on the stock to outperform from neutral after the news. ``We recommend investors to increase their exposure to distribution companies,'' Batista said in a report. ``In our view, the combination of strong energy demand and improvements in the regulatory front should continue to benefit the sector.'' The stock rose 4.29 reais, or 7 percent, to 66 reais, the biggest one- day increase in 13 months.

Eletropaulo Metropolitana SA (ELPL4 BS): Luis Fernando de Oliveira, an analyst with Itau Corretora de Valores SA, the brokerage arm of Brazil's biggest bank by market value, reinitiated coverage of Eletropaulo with a buy recommendation, forecasting the stock will rise to 105.50 reais by December. The main trigger for the stock is the expectation that the electricity regulator will ``confirm a more assertive attitude regarding tariff regulation, which is by far the most important regulatory issue for distributors,'' he said in a report. Shares of Eletropaulo, Brazil's biggest power distributor, rose 1.70 reais, or 2.4 percent, to 73.20 reais.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4 BS): Brazil's state-controlled oil producer will increase output about 14 percent this year, the company's chief executive Jose Dutra said in testimony to Brazil's Congress yesterday. Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras average daily crude oil production in Brazil will rise to 1.7 million barrels per day from 1.49 million in 2004, reversing a 3.5 percent decrease last year, Dutra said. Petrobras, Latin America's largest company by market value, fell 2.59 reais, or 2.5 percent, to 101.31 reais.

Chile

Enersis SA (ENERSIS CC): Enersis, which operates hydroelectric generators in Chile, can produce enough energy to comply with its supply contracts and to sell the remaining to other generation companies, said Rodrigo Cristi, an analyst at brokerage Alfa Corredores de Bolsa SA in Santiago. Electricity companies face a shortage of natural gas to fire their generators after Argentina began to cut shipments of the fuel to Chile last year. Enersis, the South America's second-largest energy company, rose 0.5 peso, or 0.5 percent, to 98.5 pesos.

To contact the reporter on this story: Telma Marotto in Sao Paulo at tmarotto1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 6, 2005 00:11 EDT