Latam markets advance as dollar weakens, yields retreat

The Latin American currency index .MILA00000CUS gained 0.4%, supported by a 0.6% fall in the U.S. dollar. The greenback extended recent losses after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he would favor keeping interest rates steady if upcoming data confirms inflation pressures are easing. High-yielding Latin American currencies will remain supported by carry trades even though their recent gains do not necessarily reflect improving economic fundamentals, Nur Cristiani, JPMorgan Private Bank's head of Latin America investment strategy told Reuters. Investors will now turn their attention to Friday's U.S. payrolls report for further clues on the likely path of Federal Reserve policy. Brazil's Bovespa .BVSP was little changed after an 11-day-winning streak. Investors also monitored Brazil's presidential race, where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was running one of his most cautious campaigns in years as he sought to defend a razor-thin lead over right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, sources said. A latest poll showed that his lead against Bolsonaro had narrowed to a 1- to 3-percentage-point difference in the second round. The Brazilian real BRL= eased after touching a three-week high in the previous session. "The shift in election odds towards Bolsonaro has provided support to Brazil's financial markets, particularly the real, in recent weeks," said Liam Peach, senior emerging-markets economist at Capital Economics. Chile's policy decision next week is also on markets' radar. The country's central bank is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.5% at its next meeting and hold it at that level for the next 24 months, a poll of traders released by the bank showed. MSCI's index tracking Santiago's equities .MICL00000PUS was 0.4% lower, while the peso CLP= added 0.7%. Elsewhere, opposition to Bolivia's $1.9 billion International Monetary Fund program was gaining traction, with civic groups, unions and business leaders increasingly linking fuel shortages and diesel-subsidy cuts to reforms they believe are tied to the financing agreement. An index tracking Latin American equities climbed to multi-month highs on Thursday as a recent global bond sell-off lost momentum and the U.S. dollar eased, buoying appetite for riskier emerging-market assets. The MSCI Latin America equities index .MILA00000PUS rose 0.4%, staying near four-month highs. Global bond yields surged earlier this week as inflation concerns grew following the sharpest escalation in the U.S.-Iran war since July and a rise in oil prices LCOc1, which remains above $95 a barrel. "Yields right now are a little bit of a shot across the bow, but at this point, they're not by themselves enough to interrupt these rallies in EMs," said Sameer Samana, head of global equities and real assets at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Latam markets advance as dollar weakens, yields retreat

Dollar weakness supports regional currencies

Brazil markets pause as election focus builds

Chile rate expectations and Bolivia IMF opposition

Latin American stocks and currencies gain as dollar eases

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