Latin American stocks slid amid profit taking on Wall Street on Friday, but were on pace to log a positive week with Brazil's Bovespa hitting record highs. Currencies in the region fell against a firm dollar, but crept toward weekly gains.
MSCI's index for Latin American stocks logged gains for a fourth straight week, boosted this week by hopes that the China-US trade tensions would ease and that the US Federal Reserve will be patient on raising interest rates. Brazil's benchmark index Bovespa hit several record highs during the week approaching the 94,000 mark, as President Jair Bolsonaro's proposed reforms buoyed investor sentiment.
Bolsonaro's proposed overhaul of the costly state pension system announced this week received a thumbs up from markets as it is perceived to be one of the main causes of chronic budget deficits and mounting public debt. "The real and Bovespa already reflect successful delivery of the significant pension reform," Credit Suisse analysts said in a note.
Shares of planemaker Embraer reached their best price since July last year on Friday following the Brazilian government's authorization of Embraer's agreement with Boeing Co the previous day after market close. Stock markets in Mexico, which fell 0.2 percent on the day, logged their best week since August last year, while the benchmark index in Chile registered its best week since December 2017.
Buenos Aires' stock index Merval lost strength on selective profit taking and fell 0.8 percent on the day, led by declines in shares of banks, but delivered a third straight week of gains. Most currencies in the region were set to end the week higher with Colombia's peso leading gains as the dollar was on pace to lose for a fourth straight week, having been especially hit this week by the Fed expressing caution about raising borrowing costs in the United States.
"The gradual increase in interest rates in the United States can be stopped at any moment," said Fernando Bergallo, director of FB Capital's currency board, noting the positive effect of the US central bank statement. Mexico's peso was set to deliver its seventh straight week of gains, partly aided by higher crude prices through the week, but caution remained over gasoline shortages. The central bank warned about negative effects on the economy and inflation if the crisis persisted. Chile's peso posted a slight advance against the dollar on the day and closed at its highest level in more than five weeks, driven by an advance in the price of copper, the country's main export.
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