Emerging Markets: Latam shares, FX gain as surging oil supports regional exporters

Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras

01/09/2026 20:32

MSCI Latam stocks up 0.9%, FX gain 0.4%
Brazil's Q2 GDP tops forecasts but slowdown looms
Chile's economic activity falls unexpectedly in July
Senegal bonds dive to record lows as debt restructuring plan revealed
Updates with mid-session trading levels
By Avinash  P and Ragini Mathur
Sept 1 (Reuters) - Most Latin American stocks and currencies rose on Tuesday, led by Brazilian and Colombian assets, as higher oil prices buoyed regional exporters despite caution over a global bond selloff.
The MSCI Latin America equities index MILA00000PUS gained 0.9%, hitting a near one-month high earlier in the session. Brazil's Bovespa .BVSP rose 1.6% and was on track for a tenth consecutive session of gains, its longest winning streak since November 2025.
Petrobras PETR4.SA climbed 4%, providing the biggest lift to the Brazilian benchmark. Data showed the country's oil output rose 13.6% year-on-year in July to a record 4.5 million barrels per day.
Oil prices jumped to a one-week high on Tuesday as a resumption in fighting between the U.S. and Iran renewed fears of supply disruptions from the Middle East. O/R
The surging crude prices supported oil-exporting economies in the region, which have also benefited as producers in the Americas boost exports to Asian buyers seeking alternatives to Gulf crude.
Brazil's economy slowed in the second quarter as high borrowing costs weighed on activity, though growth slightly beat expectations on a strong farm sector.
"The data therefore reinforce our view that restrictive monetary policy is gradually gaining traction, rather than pointing to an abrupt downturn," said Andres Abadia, chief Latin America economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
The real BRL= gained 0.6%, helping lift MSCI's Latin American currency gauge .MILA00000CUS by 0.4%. The Colombian peso COP= rose 1.9%.
Still, broader sentiment remained fragile as investors weighed the conflict's economic fallout and whether higher borrowing costs could stoke inflation. While the U.S. dollar =USD was firmer against some major currencies, concerns over U.S. policy credibility and government borrowing clouded its broader outlook.
"Right now, it looks like the U.S. dollar is showing a lot of underlying weakness, and meanwhile these two emerging economies seem to have potential to continue providing a very good, or a more fortunate situation," said Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex.
Perez said that resilience could fade if U.S. policy credibility improves and fiscal concerns in Brazil and Colombia return to focus.
Mexico's stock index .MXX fell 1.4%, while the peso MXN= was little changed. Uncertainty surrounding stalled North American free trade negotiations is deterring new investment and prompting some companies already operating in Mexico to consider alternative locations.
Chile's peso CLP= eased 0.2% after July economic activity contracted, dragged by a slowdown in mining.
Elsewhere, Senegal's dollar bonds fell to record lows after the government said it planned to restructure its debt under a provisionally agreed $2.2 billion, three-year IMF program.
        
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 19:15 GMT:
      

Stock indexes
Latest
Daily % change
MSCI Emerging Markets .MSCIEF
1725.28
0.35
MSCI LatAm .MILA00000PUS
3081.41
0.94
Brazil Bovespa .BVSP
180318.62
1.63
Mexico IPC .MXX
64531.46
-1.37
Chile MSCI index .MICL00000PUS
1682.90
0.2
Argentina MerVal .MERV
3042919.97
0.3
Colombia COLCAP .COLCAP
2471.77
1.93



Currencies
Latest
Daily % change
Brazil real BRL=
5.1501
0.63
Mexico peso MXN=
16.9912
-0.07
Chile peso CLP=
935.51
-0.18
Colombia peso COP=
3159.5
1.85
Peru sol PEN=
3.3604
0.12
Argentina peso (interbank) ARS=RASL
1,512.0
-0.20
Argentina peso (parallel) ARSB=
1,525.0
1.93
 
     

 (Reporting by Avinash P, Ragini Mathur and Mehnaz Yasmin; Editing by Mark Potter and Shailesh Kuber)
 ((Avinash.P@thomsonreuters.com;))