Mexican peso, stocks slammed as Trump clinches US presidency
Updated at 1528 GMT
Brazil c.bank decision due at 2130 GMT
Argentina debt risk index drops after Trump win
MSCI Latam stocks index drops 0.9, FX flat
By Johann M Cherian
Nov 6 (Reuters) -Currencies and stocks across most major Latin American economies took a beating on Wednesday, with Mexico's peso and the main stock index leading declines after Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election.
MSCI's index tracking currencies in the region .MILA00000CUS was last flat, having touched a three-month low earlier in the session as the U.S. dollar jumped 1.8%. An index tracking Latam bourses .MILA00000PUS dropped 0.9%.
Mexico's peso MXN= depreciated 1.6% to touch levels last seen more than 27 months ago, while the local equities index .MXX fell 1.8% to hit a one-year low.
Brokerage Citigroup said it has added a short position on the peso versus the South African rand after U.S. elections. The currency had slid over 3% earlier in the day.
The currency is the worst performer among peers, losing about 21% from its April highs as markets sold off the peso in anticipation of a Trump presidency along with controversial domestic judicial reforms.
Trump's campaign rhetoric included 200% tariffs on auto exports from Mexico, mass deportations and U.S. military action against drug cartels.
When asked if Trump's proposed tariffs on Mexico could derail the recent 'near shoring' trend in Mexico, Jakob Ekholdt Christensen, senior EM strategist at BankInvest said, "what Trump wants to do is more on-shoring into the U.S. economy.”
"But, there will be some reflection that it may not be possible to shift it all to the U.S. and therefore the trade relations with Mexico should be still promoted, but clearly companies will be forced to think twice about whether to locate production in Mexico or in the U.S."
Meanwhile, Brazil's real BRL= was flat, hovering near three-month lows. Analysts expect the country to enjoy greater trade with China given that Beijing replaced all its U.S. soybean imports with Brazilian ones when trade tensions flared during Trump's first presidency.
Separately, the country's Finance Minister said the government has concluded talks on new measures to strengthen the fiscal framework, seen as crucial to improve the valuation of the country's risk assets.
The local Bovespa index .BVSP slid 1.2% ahead of a central bank interest rate decision, with economists projecting a 50 basis points rate hike.
In Argentina, yield on hard-currency bonds maturing in 2029 AR220024407= slipped to 17.789, aiding the local MerVal index's .MERV 2.5% surge.
A risk index 11EMJ, that is a measure of the premium investors demand to hold local bonds versus equivalent U.S. debt, dropped to its lowest level in five years. The country's libertarian President Javier Milei is seen as a political ally of Trump.
Currencies of copper producers Chile CLP= and Peru PEN= lost 1.6% and 0.5%, respectively, tracking weak prices of the red metal on prospects that major electrification initiatives could be rolled back and consequently dampen demand.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:
Latin American market prices from Reuters | ||
Equities | Latest | Daily % change |
MSCI Emerging Markets .MSCIEF | 1128.75 | -0.91 |
MSCI LatAm .MILA00000PUS | 2101.41 | -0.96 |
Brazil Bovespa .BVSP | 129066.76 | -1.22 |
Mexico IPC .MXX | 49895.53 | -1.84 |
Chile IPSA .SPIPSA | 6486.56 | -0.58 |
Argentina Merval .MERV | 1979554.99 | 2.5 |
Colombia COLCAP .COLCAP | 1356.75 | -0.21 |
Currencies | Latest | Daily % change |
Brazil real BRL= | 5.7514 | -0.01 |
Mexico peso MXN= | 20.4145 | -1.58 |
Chile peso CLP= | 970.7 | -1.65 |
Colombia peso COP= | 4423.86 | -0.46 |
Peru sol PEN= | 3.79 | -0.48 |
Argentina peso (interbank) ARS=RASL | 992.5 | 0.05 |
Argentina peso (parallel) ARSB= | 1115 | 4.93 |
Emerging currencies stumble over Trump win https://reut.rs/40zyyiE
Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Graphic by Sumanta Sen
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