Mexican stocks little changed; peso loses ground

MEXICO CITY Dec 28 (Reuters) - Mexican stocks were little changed on Monday, with a dip in America Movil offsetting gains in Wal-Mart de Mexico, after the benchmark index earlier set a new high for the year.

The IPC stock index .MXX dipped 0.04 percent to 32,534 points, after hitting a 52-week high of 32,724.77. The index's record intraday high is 32,851 points, set in October 2007. Stock trading was light due to the holidays, with about $30 million worth of shares crossing hands.

The peso MEX01 MXN= weakened 0.27 percent to 12.8949 per dollar.

Mexican stocks have surged about 46 percent in 2009, bouncing back after steep losses during the global credit crisis and helped by optimism of an economic recovery.

The peso has gained 6 percent against the dollar this year after taking a beating in 2008 when world financial markets collapsed. The currency is still down 20 percent from August 2008, just before the crisis slammed Mexico.

In the stock market, cell phone operator America Movil (AMXL.MX), controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, was down 0.23 percent at 30.59 pesos per share.

Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX), the country's top retailer, added 0.48 percent to 58.60 pesos. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Leslie Adler)