EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies seesaw as geopolitical concerns persist
SAO PAULO, April 12 Latin American currencies seesawed on Wednesday as global geopolitical concerns persisted amid escalating tensions in Syria and North Korea, dimming interest in risky emerging market assets. Russian President Vladimir Putin said trust had eroded between the United States and Russia under President Donald Trump, as Moscow delivered an unusually hostile reception to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a face-off over Syria. Chinese President Xi Jinping urged a peaceful resolution of the Korean crisis in a telephone conversation with Trump, as a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group steamed towards the region. Against the U.S. dollar, the Brazilian real weakened 0.3 percent, while the Mexican peso was nearly flat. Brazilian markets mostly shrugged off a Supreme Court justice decision to order corruption probes into nearly 100 politicians, including leading lawmakers and a third of President Michel Temer's Cabinet. "The market believes this political noise will not derail the reforms," Nova Futura economist Pedro Paulo Silveira said, referring to Temer's ambitious structural reform agenda, widely favored by investors. The proposals include a revamp of the pension system. Many investors also stepped to the sidelines ahead of a central bank interest rate decision after the market close. The bank is widely expected to step up monetary easing, cutting the Selic benchmark rate by 100 basis points to 11.25 percent. Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index slipped 0.4 percent, with shares of power utility Cia Energética de Minas Gerais SA among the biggest losers following the company's disappointing fourth-quarter earnings. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1635 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 958.67 0.44 10.69 MSCI LatAm 2611.55 -0.63 12.28 Brazil Bovespa 64100.67 -0.4 6.43 Mexico IPC 49057.98 -1.17 7.48 Chile IPSA 4854.12 -0.45 16.93 Chile IGPA 24326.62 -0.41 17.33 Argentina MerVal 20701.85 -1.39 22.37 Colombia IGBC 10212.48 -0.16 0.83 Venezuela IBC 47030.02 0.47 48.34 Currencies daily % YTD % Latest change change Brazil real 3.1555 -0.30 2.97 Mexico peso 18.7610 0.09 10.57 Chile peso 653.3 0.24 2.66 Colombia peso 2871.78 0.01 4.52 Peru sol 3.254 -0.09 4.92 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.1850 0.56 4.54 Argentina peso (parallel) 15.69 0.00 7.20 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski and Claudia Violante; Writing by Bruno Federowski; Editing by XX)