(Updates with mid-session trading details)

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MSCI LatAm FX down 0.2%, stocks fall 0.3%

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Ukraine bonds slide after peace talks with Russia end abruptly

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Peruvian stocks rebound after four sessions of declines

By Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Most Latin American currencies and stocks dipped on Wednesday in subdued trading during ​a holiday-curtailed week for some markets, while Ukraine's bonds slid ‌as ceasefire hopes showed signs of fading.

MSCI's index tracking LatAm currencies was down 0.2%, while the stocks gauge fell 0.3%.

EM assets have extended ⁠their stellar rally from 2025 into this year, with stocks of Asian chipmakers and technology companies benefiting ⁠from an AI boom, while commodity-heavy Latin American and South African markets ‌capitalized on the frenzy in ‌metals markets.

Despite wild swings in metal prices earlier this month, Latin American investors have remained relatively unfazed, drawn instead by attractive carry ​trade opportunities in markets with higher interest rates.

"I would ‌say that we are seeing some sort of a positioning and profit taking in LatAm today," said Andres Abadia, chief Latin America economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"There are many ​regional currencies that have outperformed in recent months ​compared to other ‌emerging markets."

UKRAINE TALKS COLLAPSE, BONDS SLIDE

Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Geneva ended after only two hours on Wednesday, with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy describing them as "difficult" and accusing ⁠Russia of deliberately delaying progress toward a deal to end the four-year-old war.

International bonds in ⁠Ukraine broadly slipped over 1 cent on the dollar, with the one maturing in 2034 falling 1.3 cents, as fading hopes of a ceasefire weighed on sentiment.

"There is still a significant divide among the Russian, Ukrainian, and U.S. positions on the key issues... This is likely to prevent a near-term resolution of the ⁠deal," said ‌Nikola Apostolov, an analyst at Citigroup, highlighting that this was a "good profit-taking ‌opportunity".

Back in LatAm, Peru's stocks rebounded 1.6% after logging four sessions of declines, while the sol currency was ⁠0.2% lower.

The country plunged into political uncertainty again on Tuesday as its Congress ousted President Jose Jeri after just four months in office, following a scandal over undisclosed meetings with a Chinese businessman.

Argentina posted a fiscal surplus of 3.13 trillion pesos ($2.23 billion) after ending December with a deficit. The country's stocks fell 3.2%, while the peso gained 0.3%.

Brazil's real depreciated 0.3%, while stocks traded 0.6% lower.

Mexico's peso and stocks declined 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively.

Colombia's peso fell ​0.9%, though stocks in the country were little changed.

Chile's peso appreciated 0.3%, while stocks were 0.3% lower.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

Stock indexes Latest Daily % change

MSCI Emerging Markets 1559.33 0.23

MSCI LatAm 3180.09 -0.29

Brazil Bovespa 185442.67 -0.55

Mexico IPC 70997.79 -0.22

Chile IPSA 10864.48 -0.25

Argentina MerVal 2724967.38 -3.24

Colombia COLCAP 2364.05 0.07

Currencies Latest Daily % change

Brazil real 5.2381 -0.29

Mexico ​peso 17.2158 -0.54

Chile peso 862.53 0.29

Colombia peso 3680.27 -0.91

Peru sol 3.3516 -0.19

Argentina peso 1,396.0 0.25

(interbank)

Argentina peso 1,415.0 1.74

(parallel)

(Reporting by Purvi ‌Agarwal and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Marc Jones; Editing ​by Anil D'Silva and Jonathan Ananda)