<ul>
<li>India stocks fall 10% from record highs</li>
<li>Brazil’s services sector beats forecasts in January</li>
<li>LatAm stocks up 0.3%, FX flat</li>
</ul>
By Pranav Kashyap
March 13 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks edged higher on Friday in a late push to end the week on firmer footing, even as investors continued to pull back from riskier assets with no clear end in sight to the war involving Iran.
A gauge tracking regional equities (.MILA00000PUS) rose 0.3%, fluctuated between gains and losses for the week. A similar index for Latin American currencies (.MILA00000CUS) was flat, but was set for a 1% weekly gain.
Investor appetite for emerging markets showed signs of strain. Flows into emerging market bond funds fell in the week to March 11, while inflows into emerging market equity funds stalled after five straight weeks of gains, unsettled by the war involving Iran.
Stocks in Mumbai (.BSESN) confirmed a technical correction, while Johannesburg’s market came within striking distance of doing the same. By the widely used definition, a market enters correction territory when an index closes 10% below its all-time record close.
In the Gulf, equities in Dubai (.DFMGI) were down about 36% from their 2005 record close, while Doha’s market (.QSI) stood roughly 27% below its 2022 peak. Besides geopolitics, it was a packed week for the region. Mexican inflation accelerated more than expected, Argentina’s price picture held steady, Colombia revised its fiscal deficit target, Peru kept interest rates unchanged for a sixth consecutive meeting, and Chile ushered in a new president.
All of that played out against the backdrop of a Middle East conflict approaching the two-week mark, with drone and missile barrages continuing to rattle the region and keep global investors on edge.
With the Strait of Hormuz choked, sending energy prices into erratic swings, governments from New Delhi to Warsaw to Sao Paulo spent the week scrambling to shield their economies from the fallout.
“We are about to enter the third week of the conflict in the Middle East and the mood is still negative, with risk aversion maintaining the upper hand,” said Societe Generale’s Juan Esteban Valencia.
“We expect the bigger driver of market sentiment to remain the evolution of the conflict, and any potential signs of escalation or abatement.” Against that uneasy backdrop, Argentine (.MERV) and Chilean equities (.SPIPSA) looked set to end the week with gains, defying the broader emerging-market gloom. In Santiago, markets welcomed the arrival of Jose Antonio Kast as president, marking Chile’s sharpest political turn to the right in decades.
Chilean stocks slipped 0.4% on the day, while the peso (CLP=) gained 0.9%, suggesting investors were still weighing the long-term implications of the political shift. In Brazil, the real (BRL=) gained 0.3% after services activity in January grew slightly more than expected. The move also came after the Finance Ministry raised its inflation forecast for the year to 3.7%, factoring in the impact of higher average oil prices driven by the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Stocks in Sao Paulo (.BVSP) gained 0.5%. Meanwhile, Colombian stocks (.COLCAP) climbed 1% after President Gustavo Petro spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump, who said Petro would be welcome in the United States.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:
Equities Latest Daily %
change
MSCI Emerging Markets 1472.83 -1.29
(.MSCIEF)
MSCI LatAm (.MILA00000PUS) 2990.96 0.26
Brazil Bovespa (.BVSP) 180199.95 0.51
Mexico IPC (.MXX) 65967.33 -0.18
Argentina Merval (.MERV) 2702919.1 0.278
1
Chile IPSA (.SPIPSA) 10353.5 -0.44
Colombia COLCAP (.COLCAP) 2194.21 1.01
Currencies Latest Daily %
change
Brazil real (BRL=) 5.2288 0.29
Mexico peso (MXN=) 17.772 0.44
Chile peso (CLP=) 908.62 0.87
Colombia peso (COP=) 3680.32 -0.08
Peru sol (PEN=) 3.433 0.45
Argentina peso (interbank) 1391 0.40
(ARS=RASL)
Argentina peso (parallel) 1400 1.43
(ARSB=)

LTMU

Reuters

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Lyxor MSCI EM Latin America UCITS ETF

ISHRS L Amer 40

ChinaAMC Bradesco Bovespa ETF(QDII)

ISHRS MSCI India

Nomura Holdings, Inc.

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Lyxor ETF MSCI EM Latin America

Amundi MSCI EM Latin America

Xtrackers Nifty 500 India ETF

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iShares MSCI Brazil

ISHRS MSCI Chile Capped

EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm stocks struggle as investors turn cautious and India stocks correct