Latam FX turn higher in lead-up to all-important Fed rate verdict
Mexico's judicial reform stokes investor fears; analysts bullish
Brazil policy decision due on Wednesday
Colombia could default on payment of external debt
Latam FX, stocks rise 0.5%
Updated at 3:35 p.m. ET/ 1935 GMT
By Ankika Biswas and Shashwat Chauhan
Sept 17 (Reuters) -Most Latin American currencies reversed their declines to rise against the dollar on Tuesday, as investors continued to betthat the U.S. Federal Reserve could opt for an outsized interest rate cut later this week.
MSCI's index for Latam currencies .MILA00000CUS was up 0.5%, set to extend gains to a fourth straight day, while the stocks gauge .MILA00000PUS also rose 0.5%.
The dollar strengthened after fresh data showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose in August, suggesting that the world's largest economy remained on a solid footing through much of third quarter.
However, most Latin American currencies clawed back to trade higher as markets continued to back the case for a 50-basis-point cut by the Fed.
Traders currently see 65% chance of the Fed opting for a larger 50-bps cut, compared to a 34% chance seen a week prior, as per the CME FedWatch Tool.
Though there seems to be a discord in expectations from investors and economists on the sizeof a cut on Wednesday. Economists, who foresee a 25-bps cut, argue that the economy is not in distress to warrant a 50-bps one.
The Fed starts its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday.
Mexico's peso MXN= reversed initial losses and was now up 0.5%, while the stock index .MXX rose 0.4% to top regional peers.
The country's judicial reform has triggered investor concerns about uncertainty over the rule of law and the strength of the government's institutions, yet with the reform now priced in, some analysts argue there may be buying opportunities forming.
"We expect potential constitutional changes in the coming months. One-third of our participants expect new administration policies in Mexico to have a negative impact on asset prices," Bank of America analysts noted.
They also highlighted that participants in a "Latam Fund Manager Survey" are more constructive about Brazil than Mexico, and expect Chile to outperform among the Andean nations.
Brazil's real BRL= added 0.5% against the dollar ahead of a local policy decision on Wednesday, where interest rates are expected to rise by 25 basis points.
"The growth risks for next year are probably skewed to the downside in most (Latin American) economies," Dev Ashish, an economist at Societe Generale noted."
"The risks to our rates forecast are firmly skewed to the upside for Brazil, but they are mostly balanced for other economies."
Chile's peso CLP= was an outlier, down 0.9% ahead of long holiday break, while Peru's sol PEN= added 0.7%.
Colombia's peso COP= also reversed course midday and was now up 0.7%. Citi analysts flagged that the Congress postponed Colombia's budget discussions to September 25.
Colombia is at risk of failing to meet its foreign debt repayments because a special congressional committee has not reached a quorum, the director of public credit said.
El Salvador's sovereign dollar bonds extended their rally after President Nayikb Bukele said the country will not resort to foreign financing, or issue new debt for its spending in fiscal 2025.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:
Equities | Latest | Daily % change |
MSCI Emerging Markets .MSCIEF | 1091.24 | 0.48 |
MSCI LatAm .MILA00000PUS | 2273.11 | 0.49 |
Brazil Bovespa .BVSP | 134669.4 | -0.33 |
Mexico IPC .MXX | 52242.97 | 0.43 |
Chile IPSA .SPIPSA | 6323.95 | -0.36 |
Argentina Merval .MERV | 1816238.33 | 0.186 |
Colombia COLCAP .COLCAP | 1313.85 | -0.31 |
Currencies | Latest | Daily % change |
Brazil real BRL= | 5.483 | 0.49 |
Mexico peso MXN= | 19.1091 | 0.51 |
Chile peso CLP= | 929.51 | -0.88 |
Colombia peso COP= | 4201.3 | 0.74 |
Peru sol PEN= | 3.7398 | 0.66 |
Argentina peso (interbank) ARS=RASL | 961 | 0 |
Argentina peso (parallel) ARSB= | 1250 | 2 |
Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; editing by David Evans and Alistair Bell
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