* Colombia's central bank hikes rates to 12%, as expected

* MSCI LatAm stocks set for quarterly loss, FX for quarterly

gain

* Fujimori leads Peru presidential race after official count

* Brazilian stocks set for fourth straight month of losses

(Updates with late afternoon trading)

By Ragini Mathur, Utkarsh Hathi and Purvi Agarwal

June 30 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies and stocks

were mixed on Tuesday, as investors weighed local political

developments and U.S. policy risks at the end of the month and

quarter.

MSCI's regional currency index edged 0.2%

higher and remained on track for a sixth straight quarterly

gain. For the month, however, it was set to decline after two

consecutive monthly advances.

The equivalent stocks index was down 0.2% on

Tuesday, and was poised for a monthly and quarterly loss,

snapping a five-quarter streak of gains.

Latin American markets, typically driven by commodity prices

and domestic economic and political headlines, also came under

pressure from a firmer U.S. dollar amid rising expectations of

tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

The region has largely missed the AI-driven rally that has

propelled some Asian markets to record highs. Still, analysts

said Latin American assets had held up relatively well during

the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which began in late February.

"LatAm is a supply hedge, not a Fed hedge. It does not hold

up as well when tighter Fed pricing becomes the main macro

driver. The positive terms-of-trade shock has faded, and LatAm

assets are more exposed to tighter U.S. financial conditions

than many other EMs," said Geoff Yu, analyst at BNY.

HSBC's EM sentiment survey showed that risk appetite

deteriorated sharply in June, with a stronger dollar seen as the

main risk. However, LatAm remained the only region with positive

net sentiment across all asset classes.

In the region, equities in Peru and Chile

were set to log gains for both the month and the

quarter. Colombian equities were on track for monthly

gains.

Peru and Colombia benefited from a pivot to market-friendly

governments in their presidential elections. Right-wing

candidate Keiko Fujimori leads the final count in Peru's

presidential runoff after the country's ONPE electoral authority

finished tallying 100% of the vote on Monday after weeks of

reviewing contested ballots.

Colombia's right-wing outsider Abelardo De La Espriella

narrowly won the presidency, though the tight result is expected

to constrain his agenda and force him to seek compromises in a

divided Congress.

Peru's sol and Colombia's peso were set for

quarterly gains, with the latter eyeing its sharpest monthly

rise since November 2020.

Colombia's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate

to 12%, again upping rates in a cycle kicked off in January in a

bid to curb inflationary pressures.

"Markets are taking profits after the election bounce, and

today's expected 50 bp BdlR (Banco de la República) hike to

11.75% is unlikely to stop that," said Yu.

The Brazilian real inched 0.2% higher on Tuesday,

while the Bovespa stock index fell 0.5% on the day.

Stocks were set for their fourth consecutive month of losses,

their longest losing run since late 2024.

Gross debt in the region's largest economy rose by more than

expected in May, rising to 81.1% of its gross domestic product,

data showed on Tuesday, as the country's rising interest bill

pushed borrowing higher.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is expected to

formally declare on Wednesday that it will not extend the

U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, starting a decade-long

clock to wind down the 32-year-old North American free trade

zone as the three countries haggle over proposed changes.

The Mexican peso was on track for its sixth straight

quarter of gains, while the country's stock benchmark

fell 0.8% on the day.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

Latin American market

prices from Reuters

Equities Latest Daily %

change

MSCI Emerging Markets 1724.17 1.01

MSCI LatAm 2952.26 -0.18

Brazil Bovespa 172289.71 -0.53

Mexico IPC 67126.52 -0.76

Chile IPSA 10835.61 0.68

Argentina Merval 3166877.5 -0.31

5

Colombia COLCAP 2277.04 -0.4

Currencies Latest Daily %

change

Brazil real 5.1642 0.2

Mexico peso 17.4939 -0.18

Chile peso 921.01 0.05

Colombia peso 3402.5 1.22

Peru sol 3.4153 -0.13

Argentina peso (interbank) 1481 0

Argentina peso (parallel) 1495 -0.34