EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil stocks jump as protests fail to dent reform hopes
(Recasts with rise in stocks in Brazil and in Chile) SAO PAULO, May 2 Brazilian stocks jumped on Tuesday as traders bet that recent protests will not hinder government efforts to conduct labor and pension reforms, while Chile's bourse rose on higher copper prices. Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index closed 2.02 percent higher, supported by banks such as Banco Bradesco SA and Itau Unibanco Holding SA that offset slumping shares in planemaker Embraer SA. Brazilian protesters torched buses, clashed with police in several cities and marched on President Michel Temer's Sao Paulo residence late last week amid the nation's first general strike in more than two decades. Unions called the strike to voice anger over Temer's efforts to push austerity measures through congress, bills that would weaken labor laws and trim a generous pension system. But Temer and members of his center-right government denounced the strike as a failure, and traders said on Tuesday the clashes are unlikely to stall proposed reforms. World No. 1 copper producer Chile's leading index posted its biggest daily rise in more than a month as miners tracked gains in the price of the metal. Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady on Wednesday generally encouraged bets on emerging markets, said Gerardo Copca, an analyst with MetAnalisis. In Mexico, the IPC stock index rose 0.66 percent on surging shares of airport operators Asur and GAP after they both posted strong first-quarter results. Many companies that missed expectations in the first quarter because of fewer calendar days are expected to make up for it in the second quarter, when the Holy Week holiday falls this year, potentially helping companies that rely on consumer demand. Latin American markets on Tuesday also adjusted to trades made in New York on Monday, when local bourses were closed for International Workers' Day. Local currencies seesawed on Tuesday, with the real ending the day 0.68 percent higher. Economists expect the Fed to hint that it could tighten monetary policy in June, according to a Reuters poll of economists, which could make local currencies less attractive. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2000 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 988.19 0.86 14.6 MSCI LatAm 2662.32 1.67 13.74 Brazil Bovespa 66721.75 2.02 10.78 Mexico IPC 49588.84 0.66 8.65 Chile IPSA 4878.12 1.73 17.51 Chile IGPA 24466.31 1.57 18.00 Argentina MerVal 21157.45 0.65 25.06 Colombia IGBC 10210.63 0.12 0.81 Venezuela IBC 57682.34 -0.02 81.93 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1534 0.68 3.16 Mexico peso 18.763 -0.18 9.55 Chile peso 668.2 -0.23 0.00 Colombia peso 2945.45 -0.19 1.90 Peru sol 3.239 0.12 3.47 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.295 0.62 3.65 Argentina peso (parallel) 15.92 0.13 5.35 (Reporting by Mitra Taj and Noe Torres; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler)