Latam stocks, FX brace for US election results
Updated at 1534 GMT
Investors assess Chile c.bank's Oct meet minutes
Brazil continues talks on spending control measures
MSCI Latam stocks index down 0.9%, FX down 0.5%
By Johann M Cherian
Nov 5 (Reuters) -Currencies across major Latin American economies traded flat to lower on Tuesday as traders braced for a nail-biting finish to U.S. presidential elections that could set the tone for foreign flows into the region.
Mexico's peso MXN=, whichis expected to be the most sensitive to the election results,depreciated 0.7% and was last at about 20 to the dollar.
Earlier in the day, overnight volatility on the peso MXNONO= had soared to touch its highest since the day of the 2016 vote on Nov. 8.
The currency has been one of the hardest hit in the region, down more than15% so far this year, and is trading close to levels not seen in more than two years.
Along with domestic risks around judicial reforms, investors have been increasingly pricing in a second term for former U.S. president Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose tariffs on goods exported from the region's second-largest economy.
However, the Republican candidate is still neck-and-neck with the vice president and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in several polls, and the winner might not be known for days after voting ends.
"If it's Harris with a divided Congress, there's a lot of risk that gets immediately wiped off the table," said Alejandro Cuadrado, global head of FX & Latam strategy at BBVA Global Markets Strategy.
"With Trump the big difference is first you have a government that only takes office in January. Second, you're going to be second guessing the maneuvering around tariffs, and we're a lot more subject to headline risk."
MSCI's index tracking currencies in the region .MILA00000CUS slipped 0.5% against the dollar.
Analysts also expect Trump's domestic tax policies to be more inflationary than Harris', which could lift the greenback and U.S. Treasury yields and consequently diminish foreign inflows into emerging markets broadly.
Brazil's real BRL= was flat as the local government continued high-level discussions towards the announcement of anticipated spending control measures, though it has not disclosed when they will be unveiled.
Investors had sold off the currency despite rate hikes by the local central bank on expectations that the region's largest economy might not meet its fiscal targets for the year. The real is down more than 16% so far this year.
Chile's peso CLP= weakened 0.3%. Minutes from the central bank's latest meet showed policymakers said the decision to lower the country's benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points last month was consistent with the macroeconomic scenario.
Further, copper producer Peru's sol PEN= and oil exporter Colombia's peso COP= dipped 0.3% each.
On the equities front, an index tracking regional bourses .MILA00000PUS dropped 0.9%, with Brazilian equities .BVSP down 0.6%.
Mexico's main stock index .MXX lost 0.7%, while Colombia's Colcap index .COLCAP added 0.7%.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:
Latin American market prices from Reuters | ||
Equities | Latest | Daily % change |
MSCI Emerging Markets .MSCIEF | 1138.9 | 0.8 |
MSCI LatAm .MILA00000PUS | 2110.16 | -0.99 |
Brazil Bovespa .BVSP | 129728.01 | -0.6 |
Mexico IPC .MXX | 50521.69 | -0.71 |
Chile IPSA .SPIPSA | 6597.51 | -0.49 |
Argentina Merval .MERV | 1931251.6 | 0.635 |
Colombia COLCAP .COLCAP | 1362.51 | 0.72 |
Currencies | Latest | Daily % change |
Brazil real BRL= | 5.787 | 0.08 |
Mexico peso MXN= | 20.2373 | -0.73 |
Chile peso CLP= | 957.4 | -0.34 |
Colombia peso COP= | 4426.7 | -0.29 |
Peru sol PEN= | 3.7784 | -0.36 |
Argentina peso (interbank) ARS=RASL | 992.5 | 0.05 |
Argentina peso (parallel) ARSB= | 1140.0 | 2.56 |
Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru
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