Overview
The MSCI Latin America equities index rose 0.4% on Thursday, keeping the benchmark near its four‑month high as the earlier global bond‑sell‑off lost momentum. Global bond yields had surged earlier in the week amid heightened inflation concerns triggered by the sharpest escalation in the U.S.–Iran conflict since July and by oil prices staying above $95 a barrel. In the same period the U.S. dollar weakened, further encouraging risk‑on sentiment toward emerging‑market assets.
Regional Market Highlights
In Brazil, the Bovespa index ended an 11‑day winning streak and traded little changed, while the Brazilian real weakened after having touched a three‑week high in the prior session. Investors kept a close eye on Brazil’s presidential race, where incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was running a cautious campaign to defend a narrow lead over right‑wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Chile’s market saw the MSCI index tracking Santiago’s equities fall 0.4%, even as the Chilean peso appreciated 0.7% against the U.S. dollar.
Bolivia IMF Programme Opposition
Opposition to Bolivia’s $1.9 billion International Monetary Fund programme grew, with civic groups, unions and business leaders increasingly linking recent fuel shortages and proposed diesel‑subsidy cuts to the reform conditions attached to the financing agreement.