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Argentine equities set for 4% weekly gain

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Peso stabilizes after record low earlier this week

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Brazilian stocks set for longest winning streak in over a

month

By Niket Nishant

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Argentina's stocks rose 0.8%

on Friday and were on track to end the week with a 4% gain ahead

of a crucial midterm vote that could determine the fate of

President Javier Milei's economic reform agenda and shape future

ties with Washington.

Milei's close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump

helped secure a $20 billion swap line from the Treasury

Department to shore up the peso, which hit a record

low against the dollar earlier this week and was up 0.2% on

Friday.

Trump has hinted that further support may hinge on how well

Milei's party performs in the election.

"The midterm congressional election results will help

investors understand the potential support the administration

receives for reform continuity," said Pedro Leduc, an analyst at

Itau BBA.

"This, in turn, impacts the outlook for inflation and

interest rates, and consequently, the credit banking business

outlook and its multiples."

Still, traders expect some weakness ahead for the peso, with

one-month forwards pricing the currency at around

1,542.9 per dollar versus about 1,484 currently in the spot

market, according to data from Fenics.

Some of the country's dollar bonds also crept higher.

BRAZIL GAINS, TRADE DEAL AWAITED

Brazil's Ibovespa also gained 0.4% and was poised

for its longest winning streak in more than a month after data

showed weaker-than-expected inflation.

Sentiment was helped by Wall Street, where benign inflation

data boosted stocks. The real was flat.

An index tracking Colombian equities looked to

notch the third straight day of gains. The country has come

under scrutiny because of President Gustavo Petro's spat with

Trump.

Petro on Thursday said a suspension of aid from the United

States would have little impact but changes to military funding

could have some problems.

In Mexico, stocks were up 0.1%. Mexican President

Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday said she did not agree with U.S.

strikes on boats off the coast of South America.

Peru's Lima stock exchange resumed its

fall after a one-day reprieve and was on pace to end the week

with a 2.2% loss.

Overall, MSCI's gauge of Latin American equities

rose 0.4%, while an equivalent index tracking

regional currencies was subdued.

The indexes were poised to end the week with gains of 1.9%

and 0.8%, and future performance will be determined by a string

of local earnings as well as international factors.

Trump is scheduled to meet with China's President Xi Jinping

next week at a meeting that many investors are hoping will

defuse tensions and lay the groundwork for growth, benefiting

emerging markets that rely heavily on global risk appetite and

external capital flows.

Geopolitical optimism was tempered earlier this week after

Russia was placed under fresh sanctions from the U.S. and the

European Union.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

Equities

Latest Daily %

change

MSCI Emerging Markets 1389.88 0.62

MSCI LatAm 2530.31 0.35

Brazil Bovespa 146228.78 0.44

Mexico IPC 61552.93 0.11

Chile IPSA 9235.54 0.94

Argentina Merval 2074050.57 0.901

Colombia COLCAP 1927.47 0.13

Currencies

Latest Daily %

change

Brazil real 5.3817 0.01

Mexico peso 18.3658 0.15

Chile peso 943.22 0.11

Colombia peso 3851.7 0.67

Peru sol 3.3776 0.3

Argentina peso (interbank) 1484 0.20

Argentina peso (parallel) 1490 2.35