*

Investors weigh signs of Sino-US trade tensions

de-escalating

*

Commodity exporters gain on higher base metal, crude

prices

*

Hamas begins releasing Israeli hostages, Egypt summit eyed

*

Peru's new leader readies cabinet to quell anger as

elections

loom

*

Latam stocks up 1.1%, FX up 0.2%

(Updates with afternoon prices, analyst comment)

By Niket Nishant and Pranav Kashyap

Oct 13 (Reuters) -

Latin American assets snapped back into the green on Monday,

recovering from last week's bruising losses and as commodity

prices gained, even though some caution prevailed as investors

were on the lookout for any signs of trade friction between the

U.S. and China.

MSCI's gauge for Latin American currencies

gained 1.1%, while a parallel index tracking regional currencies

was up 0.2% against the dollar.

Investor sentiment showed signs of stabilizing after the

indexes logged their biggest weekly declines since early July

following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to ramp up

tariffs on imports from China on Friday.

However, Trump eased his tone over the weekend and Treasury

Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that the U.S. president

was set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea in late

October and said "the 100% tariffs on China does not have to

happen."

A flare-up could further complicate the outlook for

investors who have been recovering from market ructions when

Trump imposed tariffs on world economies in April.

"While we have largely moved on from the tariff tantrum of

April, Friday's market decline is an important reminder that

trade tensions are still in the background and can cause bouts

of short-term volatility," said Richard Saperstein, chief

investment officer, Treasury Partners.

The Brazilian real firmed 1.3% against the dollar,

tracking higher iron ore prices - a top export item from the

country, while oil exporter Mexico's peso appreciated

0.8% as oil prices gained.

The Brazilian President said he would

announce his nomination for the next judge

to sit on the country's Supreme Court once he returns from

Europe.

With Brazil's Supreme Court under intense scrutiny this

year - accused by critics of overreach and politicization amid

high-profile rulings, including the conviction of former

President Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a coup - the President's

next judicial appointment is landing at a politically charged

moment.

Equities were also supported by strength in commodities and

a recovery in oil prices.

Crude exporters in the region including Brazil's Petrobras

and Argentina's YPF gained 3.5% and 0.8%,

respectively. Miners such as Brazil's Vale and Grupo

Mexico gained 1.6% and 2.7%, respectively, while

Chile's SQM climbed 0.4%.

Mexican stocks and Brazil's Bovespa added

0.9% each.

Argentina's local stock index was flat while the

peso jumped 5.8%, ahead of the upcoming meeting

between President Javier Milei and Trump at the White House,

which some analysts believe will be crucial to underpinning

market confidence.

In Peru, the sol inched up 0.3% in light trading and

the Lima Stock Exchange gained 2.4% as

investors continued to digest the political turmoil following

President Dina Boluarte's removal.

As the U.S. government shutdown stalls key economic data

releases, investors are scanning the horizon for clues to guide

near-term positioning. With only a handful of data points -

including Argentina's inflation later this week - global cues

are stepping into the spotlight.

All eyes are on central bankers gathering at the

International Monetary Fund meetings, while geopolitical

developments are also shaping sentiment.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

MSCI Emerging Markets 1353.34 -0.9

MSCI LatAm 2448.23 1.10

Brazil Bovespa 141976.97 0.92

Mexico IPC 61136.52 0.94

Argentina Merval 1953101.19 1.463

Chile IPSA 8795.38 1.38

Colombia COLCAP 1869.78 -1.03

Brazil real 5.4482 1.33

Mexico peso 18.4437 0.72

Chile peso 957.35 0.16

Colombia peso 3921.53 0.05

Peru sol 3.424 0.28

Argentina peso (interbank) 1347 5.79

Argentina peso (parallel) 1385 6.50