Most Latam FX up after US jobs data, though poised for weekly losses
Fitch unlikely to raise Brazil's credit rating soon -director
Mexico's top court accepts constitutional challenge to judicial overhaul
Latam FX up 0.8%, stocks up 1.6%
Updated at 3:36 p.m. EDT/1936 GMT
By Ankika Biswas and Shashwat Chauhan
Oct 4 (Reuters) -Most Latin American currencies appreciated on Friday, as risk assets globally advanced after a U.S. jobs report allayed growth concerns in the world's biggest economy, though they were headed for weekly losses as escalating conflicts in the Middle East kept investors on edge.
U.S. job gains increased by the most in six months in September and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, suggesting a resilient economy that likely does not need the Federal Reserve to deliver large interest rate cuts for the rest of this year.
"The September jobs report was unambiguously strong with all key metrics coming in favorably and pointing toward a soft landing," Jeffrey Schulze, head of economic and market strategy at ClearBridge Investments, said.
Both Colombia's peso COP= and Brazil's real BRL= added 0.4%, though they were set for weekly losses.
Fitch is unlikely to upgrade Brazil's credit rating in the near term, despite the country's better-than-expected economic growth, because of doubts it will be able to significantly improve public finances, a director in Fitch's sovereign ratings group said.
Brazil's government published an executive order that effectively rolls out a minimum 15% tax on the profits of multinational corporations. This comes as it seeks new revenue sources to meet targets including reducing the fiscal deficit to zero, while being loath to adopt broad spending cuts.
Mexico's peso MXN= appreciated 0.4%, the only major currency in the region headed for weekly gains.
Mexico's Supreme Court agreed to consider a constitutional challenge to a controversial judicial overhaul that will move the country over the next few years to a system of popularly elected judges.
Despite Friday's gains, most currencies were set for weekly losses as investors shied away from risky assets on the back of escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The MSCI Latam currencies index .MILA00000CUS crept up 0.8%, set to extend gains for a fifth straight week, as China's recent set of stimulus measures boosted sentiment toward emerging market stocks and currencies.
MSCI's index for Latin American stocks .MILA00000PUS gained 1.6%, in line with a global rise of risky assets such as equities.
Elsewhere in emerging markets, Sri Lanka's $12.5 billion bondholder debt rework received support from bilateral creditors and the International Monetary Fund, a huge boost to the nation's fragile economy.
Sri Lanka's biggest price jump occurred in its short-dated dollar-denominated bonds maturing in 2029 USY8137FAP37=TE, up 2.9 cents on the dollar to be bid at 58.43 cents, Tradeweb data showed.
IMF staff and officials in Ghana reached an agreement on their third review of the West African country's $3 billion IMF loan program.
In Europe, Romania held its benchmark interest rate at 6.50%, after two consecutive cuts.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** South Africa sells 1 billion rand of inflation-linked bonds at auction
** Polish rate-setters point to energy prices as reason for CPI rise, minutes show
** Goldman sees later Turkey rate cut, higher year-end inflation
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:
Equities | Latest | Daily % change |
MSCI Emerging Markets .MSCIEF | 1175.51 | 0.21 |
MSCI LatAm .MILA00000PUS | 2246.08 | 1.61 |
Brazil Bovespa .BVSP | 131823.85 | 0.12 |
Mexico IPC .MXX | 52576.96 | 1.75 |
Chile IPSA .SPIPSA | 6480.93 | 1.43 |
Argentina Merval .MERV | 1754558.62 | -0.025 |
Colombia COLCAP .COLCAP | 1304.25 | 0.08 |
Currencies | Latest | Daily % change |
Brazil real BRL= | 5.4552 | 0.38 |
Mexico peso MXN= | 19.2575 | 0.43 |
Chile peso CLP= | 924.04 | -0.44 |
Colombia peso COP= | 4167.09 | 0.37 |
Peru sol PEN= | 3.7197 | 0.00 |
Argentina peso (interbank) ARS=RASL | 971 | 0.10 |
Argentina peso (parallel) ARSB= | 1175 | 2.55 |
Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Matthew Lewis
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