(Updated at 11:00 a.m. ET/ 1500 GMT)

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Mexican lower house passes controversial judicial reform

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Brazil's industrial output falls more than expected in

July

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Chile cenbank cuts rates by 25-bps overnight

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Latam stocks up 1.3%, FX adds 0.2%

By Shashwat Chauhan

Sept 4 (Reuters) - Most Latin American currencies edged

up on Wednesday, as the dollar softened after latest U.S. job

openings data strengthened bets that the Federal Reserve could

opt for a bigger interest rate cut later this month.

Traders added to bets that the Fed will deliver a

half-a-percentage-point reduction at its next meeting after data

showed U.S. job openings dropped to a 3-1/2-year low in July,

suggesting the labor market was losing steam.

"The labor market is definitely cooling significantly after

running hot for several years," said Stephen Stanley, chief U.S.

economist at Santander U.S. Capital Markets.

"In my view, the compelling question is whether the July

readings were somewhat of a downside outlier or are they telling

us that labor market conditions are deteriorating at an

accelerating pace."

The data comes ahead of Friday's all-important August

non-farm payrolls report that could offer more clues on the

Federal Reserve's September rate cut plans.

Mexico's peso gained 0.3% in choppy trading.

In a marathon session, Mexico's lower house of Congress on

Wednesday morning approved a controversial judicial reform.

Despite an opposition outcry, ruling party Morena approved

the reform, which has led to a strike by judicial workers,

strained relations with the U.S. and generated concern in

financial markets.

Brazil's real added 0.4%, while Colombia's peso

advanced 0.3%.

Government statistics agency IBGE said Brazil's industrial

production fell more than expected in July, losing steam after a

stellar performance in the previous month.

Chile's peso was an outlier, down 0.5% after the

country's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25

basis points to 5.5%, in line with traders' expectation

following a unanimous vote.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of major global peers, was last down 0.4%.

MSCI's index for Latin American currencies

gained 0.2%, while a gauge for stocks added

1.3%.

Regional heavyweight Brazil's Bovespa stock index

gained 1.6% after falling for the last four sessions, while

Mexico's benchmark added 0.4%.

A broader gauge for emerging market stocks fell

more than 1% as chips-heavy bourses in Asia clocked steep losses

following U.S. firm Nvidia's sharp drop on Tuesday.

Concerns of an economic slowdown in the U.S. also lingered

after Institute for Supply Management data released on Tuesday

showed U.S. manufacturing remained subdued despite a modest

improvement in August from an eight-month low in July.

Elsewhere in emerging markets, the National Bank of Poland

(NBP) left its main interest rate on hold at 5.75% as expected.

The zloty was last up 0.1% against the euro.

HIGHLIGHTS

** Brazil finance minister says he trusts central bank

officials ahead of rate decision

** Colombia's Ecopetrol says operations affected by pipeline

attacks, road blockades

** Chile central bank lowers range of 2024 GDP growth

forecast

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

Equities Latest Daily % change

MSCI Emerging Markets 1075.61 -1.34

MSCI LatAm 2240.23 1.26

Brazil Bovespa 136529.64 1.62

Mexico IPC 51942.12 0.68

Chile IPSA 6429.74 0.67

Argentina Merval 1771980.1 2.117

3

Colombia COLCAP 1345.03 -0.21

Currencies Latest Daily % change

Brazil real 5.6209 0.43

Mexico peso 19.7165 0.34

Chile peso 933.09 -0.48

Colombia peso 4171.5 0.29

Peru sol 3.7901 -0.48

Argentina peso (interbank) 953.5 0.052438385

Argentina peso (parallel) 1290 1.550387597