*
Chile expected to hold interest rates steady
*
Turkish stocks fall ahead of Sunday's vote
*
Ghana creditors form committee to restructure debt
*
Latam stocks, currencies up 1%
By Amruta Khandekar May 12 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies rose on Friday led by Chile's peso, which jumped ahead of a local interest rate decision while Turkish stocks declined in the run up to Sunday's closely-watched presidential election. The peso rose 1.2% and was headed for its second weekly gain, with its central bank expected to maintain the country's benchmark interest rate at 11.25% later on Friday.
MSCI's Latam currencies index rose 0.9%.
The Brazilian real inched 0.3% higher after
data showed consumer prices in Latam's biggest economy continued
to slow down in April, likely helping President Luiz Inacio Lula
da Silva in his crusade against high interest rates.
The Peruvian sol rose 0.1%, a day after the central
bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 7.75% for the
fourth consecutive month.
The Mexican peso was flat. The country's industrial
output fell more than expected, decreasing 0.9% in March from
February, the national statistics agency said on Friday.
Latam stocks gained 1.0%, outpacing a 0.5%
decline in broader emerging market stocks on concerns about
slowing global growth after weak inflation data from the U.S.
and China.
"Something that is comforting for us is that China is one of
the few economies globally that have the levers on the fiscal
and monetary side to be able to stimulate their economy and that
is because inflation is at very low levels," said Kevin Ross,
senior portfolio manager of international equities at Vaughan
Nelson.
Latam stocks are up 2.8% on the week, while currencies are
set to mark their third straight week in the green, but some
analysts have cautioned that assets in the region are losing
their appeal among foreign investors.
"Latin America, from the context of emerging markets is
losing significantly compared to Asia. There is a much weaker
political drive towards policies that help those (Latam)
countries develop," said Marco Priani, senior portfolio manager
of international equities with Vaughan Nelson.
In Turkey, equities took a breather, falling 1.6%
after a rally in the previous session following the withdrawal
of presidential candidate Muharrem Ince from Sunday's vote- a
move which was considered giving an edge to Kemal Kilicdaroglu,
the main challenger of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
Kilicdaroglu said on Friday his party has concrete evidence
of Russia's responsibility for the release of "deep fake" online
content ahead of Sunday's presidential elections.
In another turbulent day for South African markets, the rand hit a fresh record low but pared losses on Friday after
officials said the country had not approved any arms shipment to
Russia late last year.
Stocks in Brazil rose 0.1%, with shares of Embraer
SA up 6.3% after the planemaker on Thursday announced
a $5 billion plane sales deal with Berkshire Hathaway's NetJets.
Ghana's official creditors have formed a committee,
co-chaired by China and France, to rework the country's debts,
the Paris Club said in a statement on Friday, paving the way for
International Monetary Fund sign-off a $3 billion loan.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1411 GMT:
Stock indexes Latest Daily % change
MSCI Emerging Markets 973.13 -0.48 MSCI LatAm 2316.67 0.98 Brazil Bovespa 108399.78 0.13 Mexico IPC 54897.01 -0.21 Chile IPSA 5597.71 -0.02 Argentina MerVal 0.00 0 Colombia COLCAP 1153.79 0.91 Currencies Latest Daily % change
Brazil real 4.9160 0.40
Mexico peso 17.5673 0.03 Chile peso 786.3 1.21
Colombia peso 4585.53 0.33
Peru sol 3.6477 -0.07
Argentina peso 229.4000 -0.17
(interbank) Argentina peso 470 0.43
(parallel) (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar
Editing by Christina Fincher)
