Latam assets dip; Brazil's real hits new low

Latin American stocks and currencies were flat on Monday, on little demand for riskier assets in the face of a rising death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in China, while Brazil's real hit a fresh all-time low.

Risk assets across the region have been hit by worries of a slowdown caused by the epidemic in China, which is a major export destination for Latin American goods.

"Investors are quite worried about the overly negative impact of the coronavirus on the global economy," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

On Sunday, 97 more fatalities were recorded - the largest number in a single day since the virus was detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. The death toll from the virus has risen to 908 so far.

MSCI's index for Latin American currencies fell 0.3%, with the Brazilian real weakening 0.1% to 4.3274 per dollar.

The currency of South America's biggest economy logged its sixth weekly drop on Friday, with traders testing the central bank's resolve not to intervene in the market to arrest its decline.

Also weighing on emerging market currencies was a stronger dollar. The greenback hit a four-month high against the euro on Monday, boosted by higher safe-haven demand and a bullish outlook for the US economy.

The Colombian peso eased as prices of oil, the country's main export, fell on weaker Chinese demand.

In Argentina, its new government heads into do-or-die talks this week with its biggest creditor, the International Monetary Fund, seeking a deal to postpone debt payments while honoring a promise to voters to not go along with painful budget cuts.

The country's peso currency weakened against the dollar on Monday.

Other major currencies in the region - the Mexican peso , the Chilean peso and the Peruvian sol - also eased against the greenback.

Chilean stocks fell more than 1%, with the largest South American airline, LATAM Airlines Group, leading the decline. The fast-spreading virus in China has hit the travel and tourism industry around the world.