Latam assets rise with global growth in view; shekel, rouble tumble
Updated at 1515 GMT
Shekel falls as Hamas casts doubt on ceasefire talks
Rouble down 6% since Ukraine's Aug. 6 attack
Azul shares fall after results
Polish stocks gain over 3%
Latam stocks up 0.3%, currency index flat
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal
Aug 12 (Reuters) -Latin American stocks tracked global equities higher as attention shifted to key data later in the week for clues on global economic growth, while Russia's rouble and Israel's shekel slumped on worries about escalating geopolitical risks in both countries.
MSCI's index of Latin American stocks .MILA00000PUS gained 0.3% and touched a three-week high, with Colombian stocks' .COLCAP 1.3% rise leading gains among regional indexes.
Investors awaited key U.S. inflation and retail sales data later in the week for signals on growth in the world's largest economy, as well as retail sales and industrial production figures from China.
Meanwhile, Israel's shekel ILS= dropped 1.4% to 3.77 per dollar, nearly erasing all of Friday's gains, on increasing worries about a possible attack from Iran.
Israeli stocks .TA125 slipped 1.5%.
""Expectations of a ceasefire are low and declining and the specter of an Iranian retaliation remains, Add to this the better polling numbers for (presidential candidate Kamala) Harris in the U.S. and these are clear headwinds for Israeli assets," said Hasnain Malik, head of equity research at Tellimer Research.
Russia's rouble RUB=, meanwhile, plunged 2.9% to 91.70 per dollar, a near three-month low, as Russia evacuated parts of regions bordering Ukraine. The rouble has lost over 6% since Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region on August 6.
Higher crude prices, as traders priced in potential disruptions to Middle East supply, lifted currencies of Latin American producers. Colombia's peso COP= and Brazil's real BRL= both rose 0.1% against the dollar.
A rally in copper prices lifted the Chilean peso CLP= 0.2%, however, Peru's sol PEN=PE slipped 0.9%, on course for its worst day in two months.
Emerging market assets have broadly recovered from last week's sharp sell-off, sparked by concerns about growth in both the U.S. and China, and the week's upcoming data will likely test whether risk sentiment has truly recovered.
Mexican assets also lagged, with stocks .MXX flat and the peso MXN= down 0.6% against the dollar after rising for three straight sessions. Consumer confidence slipped slightly in July.
Despite the day's declines the currency has recouped all losses from last week, when it touched a near two-year low as Japanese yen-funded carry trades unwound.
Citigroup upgraded its stance on Mexican equities to neutral, while it downgraded South Korean equities to the same stance.
On the equities front, Brazilian-listed shares of Azul AZUL4.SA lost nearly 10% after the airline reduced its estimate for 2024 core earnings while bumping up its leverage forecast.
Elsewhere in Europe, Poland's main stock index .WIG20 leapt over 3.4%, on course for its best day since last November, on strong second-quarter results from Orlen PKN.WA.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Brazil's central bank to pursue inflation target regardless of leadership change
** Billions in dollar and euro notes reach Russia despite sanctions
** Iron ore outlook dims as China inventories, steel output fade: Russell
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies
MSCI Emerging Markets .MSCIEF | 1069.57 | 0.58 |
MSCI LatAm .MILA00000PUS | 2256.07 | 0.28 |
Brazil Bovespa .BVSP | 131445.8 | 0.64 |
Mexico IPC .MXX | 53023.06 | -0.05 |
Chile IPSA .SPIPSA | 6348.05 | 0.43 |
Argentina Merval .MERV | 1594355.36 | 0.66 |
Colombia COLCAP .COLCAP | 1327.77 | 1.32 |
Currencies | Latest | Daily % change |
Brazil real BRL= | 5.4997 | 0.12 |
Mexico peso MXN= | 18.9317 | -0.57 |
Chile peso CLP= | 929.8 | 0.24 |
Colombia peso COP= | 4063 | 0.14 |
Peru sol PEN= | 3.7449 | -0.89 |
Argentina peso (interbank) ARS=RASL | 938.5 | -0.159829515 |
Argentina peso (parallel) ARSB= | 1335 | 1.498127341 |
Reporting by Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis
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