ILF•| Latin American market prices from Reuters | ||
| Equities | Latest | Daily % change |
| MSCI Emerging Markets .MSCIEF | 1563.7 | -1.19 |
| MSCI LatAm .MILA00000PUS | 3027.96 | -0.77 |
| Brazil Bovespa .BVSP | 174805.66 | -1 |
| Mexico IPC .MXX | 66821.21 | -0.72 |
| Chile IPSA .SPIPSA | 10906.02 | 0.24 |
| Argentina Merval .MERV | 3264501.57 | 0.25 |
| Colombia COLCAP .COLCAP | 2309.17 | 0.34 |
| Currencies | Latest | Daily % change |
| Brazil real BRL= | 5.0963 | 0.48 |
| Mexico peso MXN= | 17.4256 | -0.02 |
| Chile peso CLP= | 930.38 | -0.02 |
| Colombia peso COP= | 3187.06 | 0.48 |
| Peru sol PEN= | 3.4005 | 0.04 |
| Argentina peso (interbank) ARS=RASL | 1495 | 0.33 |
| Argentina peso (parallel) ARSB= | 1550 | 1.29 |
Meanwhile, in Brazil, a poll showed that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was leading a potential second-round vote in the October presidential election against opposition Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.
Separately, the country's Treasury has asked the Senate for authorization to issue up to $35 billion a year in international debt markets, part of a strategy to increase the share of foreign-currency-linked debt in its portfolio.
Brazil's Bovespa share index .BVSP declined 1%, but the fall was contained by a 2% gain in state-run oil firm Petrobras PETR4.SA after it reported strong Q2 production figures.
The real BRL= gained 0.5%.
Equities in Argentina .MERV added 0.3%, while Mexico's benchmark .MXX declined 0.7%.
Argentina's currency ARS=RASL was trading higher 0.3%, but Mexico's peso MXN= was muted.
In Peru, Keiko Fujimori was sworn in as the nation's first-ever elected female president on Tuesday, extending the broader rightward shift in the region.
Local equities were trading 0.3% lower, while the sol PEN= firmed.
Separately, Bolivia reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a program worth about $1.9 billion to support the country's economic reform agenda.
Most Latin American currencies rose against the dollar on Wednesday as investors parsed through the Federal Reserve's policy decision, while equities were mixed as investors took stock of developments in the Middle East.
The Fed held its interest rate at 3.50%-3.75%, as widely expected, though doubts remain over its path to return inflation to its 2% target. Three FOMC members dissented, favoring a 25-basis-point hike.
"What it means for emerging markets is that policymakers in EM have to deal with an increasingly complex environment where global financing conditions are likely to be not as benign as before and potentially tighter", said Petar Atanasov, co-head of sovereign research and strategy at Gramercy.
The US dollar index =USD slipped 0.5% following the decision. The drop lifted the Latin American currency index .MILA00000CUS 0.3% higher.
The Colombian peso COP= edged 0.5% higher, and hovered near its strongest level in seven years.
The currency has outperformed its regional peers this year, with the presidential election win by right-winger Abelardo de la Espriella last month providing further momentum.
"Elections tend to be a huge driver of market sentiment and drive those inflection points when there is an ability to capture a changing direction in a currency and this is the case that exactly happened in Colombia earlier this year," Atanasov added.
The Latin American equities index .MILA00000PUS fell 0.8% as oil prices rose 7.4% after three straight sessions of sharp losses as hostilities in the Middle East resumed, adding to investor caution.
Stocks in the region have been largely shielded from the broader emerging-market sell-off driven by the global technology rout and rising oil prices.
