EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil stocks seesaw after flurry of corporate earnings
By Bruno Federowski BRASILIA, July 26 (Reuters) - Brazilian stocks seesawed on Thursday in the wake of a heavy batch of corporate earnings reports from blue-chips such as miner Vale SA, brewer AmBev SA and lender Banco Bradesco SA.
The benchmark Bovespa stock index was near flat, in line with muted moves by MSCI's index tracking stocks across Latin America.
Shares in Vale SA jumped 2 percent after the world's largest iron ore producer reported higher second-quarter operating profit, helped by increased output.
Although the miner's net income undershot analysts' expectations, mostly due to a currency hit, it also unveiled plans to buy back $1 billion worth of common stock and pay out a dividend of $2.054 billion in September.
Stocks in AmBev, the Latin American unit of brewing giant Anheuser Busch Inbev NV, also rose sharply as the World Cup boosted second-quarter beer sales.
Banco Bradesco SA shares fell sharply despite stronger-than-expected second-quarter profits, with analysts citing growing expenses.
"The corporate news flow is setting the tone today and there are both positive and negative reports around many high-profile companies. It's only natural that the market as a whole behaves erratically," a Rio de Janeiro-based portfolio manager said.
Currency markets in Latin America also showed no unifying trend, with investors avoiding making big bets as concerns over global trade tensions fueled caution. The Brazilian real weakened 0.6 percent, while the Mexican peso was up 0.2 percent.
Riskier assets have suffered in recent months due to escalating U.S. protectionism. But U.S. President Donald Trump agreed on Wednesday to refrain from imposing car tariffs while the two sides launch negotiations to cut other trade barriers, easing the threat of a transatlantic trade war.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1520 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1090.70 0.17 -6.01 MSCI LatAm 2733.90 0.08 -3.41 Brazil Bovespa 80261.83 0.05 5.05 Mexico IPC 49806.14 0.41 0.92 Chile IPSA 5468.97 0.2 -1.72 Chile IGPA 27498.56 0.2 -1.72 Argentina MerVal 29211.68 -0.52 -2.84 Colombia IGBC 12153.42 0.38 6.88 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.7239 -0.62 -11.03 Mexico peso 18.6300 0.16 5.74 Chile peso 648.73 -0.53 -5.25 Colombia peso 2882.7 0.05 3.44 Peru sol 3.274 -0.03 -1.13 Argentina peso (interbank) 27.4000 0.00 -32.12 Argentina peso (parallel) 28.55 0.18 -32.64 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Dan Grebler)
