*
MSCI Latam FX index down 0.5%, set to snap 11-day winning
streak
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L'Oreal buys luxury brand Aesop from Brazil's Natura & Co
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Nearshoring bets boost Mexican real estate, transport shares
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Peru congress rejects motion to start president's
impeachment
trial
(Updates throughout)
By Shashwat Chauhan and Bansari Mayur Kamdar
April 4 (Reuters) -
The Brazilian real slipped on Tuesday as fears of recession gripped global markets, while gains on the Bovespa index were limited by a slide in commodity-linked shares and cosmetics maker Natura & Co. The real underperformed its peers, falling 0.4% and dragging the MSCI's index for Latin American currencies to its first drop in 12 days.
Weighing on markets, data showed U.S. job openings in February dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years, exacerbating fears of a recession in the world's largest economy. In Brazil, Economic Policy Secretary Guilherme Mello said the current growth potential of the Brazilian economy is 2.5%, while highlighting that macroeconomic conditions are in place for the central bank to cut interest rates. The country's Bovespa stock index gained 0.7% helped by financial stocks, but upside was limited by a slide in commodity-linked stocks such as Vale and Petrobras . Brazil's Natura & Co reversed early gains and shed 0.9% after it agreed to sell Australian luxury brand Aesop to French cosmetics company L'Oreal for an enterprise value of $2.53 billion.
Chile's peso edged up in choppy trading against the dollar, after sharp losses in the previous session. Investors awaited key interest rate decision by the Andean nation's central bank this week, where it is expected to hold its policy rate at 11.25%.
"If the central bank of Chile can say that they can hold
back on hiking interest rates, that may not necessarily be a
very dovish thing ... it depends on how they present it," said
Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex in Washington.
"So it may not be necessarily a very dovish pause, it may be
a hawkish break."
Latin American currencies posted their best quarterly
performance in a year on Friday, outperforming their emerging
market peers , boosted by hawkish central bank
policies in the region and hopes of a rebound in top commodities
consumer China.
Currency of oil exporter Mexico shed 0.4% as crude prices were subdued after weak economic data from the U.S. and China prompted fears of cooling oil demand and offset earlier gains from OPEC+ plans to cut more production. Stocks in Mexico added 1.1%. Investors' optimism about a possible "nearshoring" boom in Mexico is leading them to buy local shares in real estate, transportation companies and banks,
analysts said. Colombia's peso rose 0.4%, while Peru's sol added 0.2% against the greenback. Peru's congress
rejected a motion to begin impeachment hearings against President Dina Boluarte on charges relating to the deaths of anti-government protesters.
Meanwhile, Romania's leu inched higher against the euro after its central bank kept its benchmark interest rate on hold at 7% for the second consecutive month, in line with expectations.
Pakistan's central bank raised its key interest rate to a
record 21% as the cash-strapped country bid to curb crippling
food inflation and maintain the confidence of foreign creditors.
Its rupee hit an all-time low of 287 against the
dollar earlier in the day.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1847 GMT:
Stock indexes Latest Daily %
change
MSCI Emerging Markets 987.96 -0.12 MSCI LatAm 2190.23 -0.15
Brazil Bovespa 101895.13 0.38
Mexico IPC 54494.55 1.13
Chile IPSA 5235.76 -1.42
Argentina MerVal 251766.97 -1.15
Colombia COLCAP 1181.32 -0.16
Currencies Latest Daily %
change
Brazil real 5.0865 -0.33
Mexico peso 18.1231 -0.37
Chile peso 808.4 0.01
Colombia peso 4582.9 0.37
Peru sol 3.7685 -0.29
Argentina peso (interbank) 210.7500 -0.18 Argentina peso (parallel) 388 1.03 (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan, Shreyashi Sanyal and Bansari
Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao and Marguerita
Choy)
