*

Mexican peso renews slide, plunges 8% post election

*

Brazil's economic activity flat in April

*

Peru holds interest rate at 5.75%, in surprise move

By Shubham Batra

June 14 (Reuters) - The Mexican peso continued its slide

on Friday as President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum remarked about

electing judges and the Chilean peso dropped tracking a slump in

copper prices, while Latin American stocks fell to an

eight-month low.

Currencies across the region were in the red, driven by

Mexico's peso that fell 0.7% against the U.S. dollar as

Sheinbaum on Thursday said that judges in the country should be

elected, echoing her agreement with a controversial judicial

reform proposed by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez

Obrador.

The peso has so far slumped nearly 8% since a resounding

election win early this month for the country's ruling party.

Mexican Deputy Finance Minister Gabriel Yorio said the

government was continuing to reduce the country's 2025, 2026,

and 2027 local debt with an operation to refinance some 181

billion pesos ($9.8 billion).

The country's MXX index fell 0.7%, logging its third

straight day of losses.

Copper prices slipped, pressured by a firm dollar and rising

inventories that highlighted a supply surplus, pushing Chile's

peso down 1.3% against the greenback.

MSCI's gauge of Latin American stocks was up

0.4%.

However, stocks in Brazil were down 0.5% as economic

activity in the region's biggest economy started the second

quarter in stagnation, frustrating market expectations.

"Going forward, we expect activity to continue to benefit

from significant fiscal stimulus, the generous increase in the

minimum wage, the turnaround in the credit cycle and solid real

household disposable income growth," Goldman Sachs Economic

Research said in a note.

A Reuters poll of economists showed Brazil's central bank is

set to pause on June 19 an easing cycle it started last year

amid increased volatility in domestic financial markets and

unanchored inflation expectations.

Argentina's Merval index slid 1.4%. The

International Monetary Fund (IMF) board on Thursday cleared the

way for Argentina to draw $800 million to help drive its

economic recovery, saying the lending program was "firmly on

track".

Meanwhile, the yield on Peru's 2-year local currency bond

edged higher after its central bank on Thursday held

the benchmark interest rate at 5.75%, bucking analysts'

expectations of a 25-basis-point rate cut.

The Peruvian sol was up 0.3%.

Among individual stocks, Brazilian state-run oil company

Petrobras sank 1.0% after reports that it's chief

executive officer Magda Chambriard, is expected to announce the

firm's new management team later on Friday.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1458 GMT:

Stock indexes Latest Daily % YTD %

change change

MSCI Emerging Markets 1075.53 0 4.96

MSCI LatAm 2163.80 0.41 -19.07

Brazil Bovespa 119037.30 -0.44 -11.29

Mexico IPC 51967.87 -0.59 -9.44

Chile IPSA 6462.76 -0.36 4.27

Argentina MerVal 1582209.0 -1.433 70.18

2

Colombia COLCAP 1384.28 -0.13 15.75

Currencies Latest Daily % YTD %

change change

Brazil real 5.3545 0.22 -38.12

Mexico peso 18.4865 -0.71 6.56

Chile peso 928.6 -1.26 -33.81

Colombia peso 4167.82 -0.61 -28.45

Peru sol 3.7682 0.30 -14.10

Argentina peso 902.0000 0.06 -97.94

(interbank)

Argentina peso 1235 0.81 -98.44

(parallel)