Mexican, Chile pesos climb against weak dollar; stocks fall

The Mexican peso firmed on Monday and the Chilean peso broke a seven-day losing streak as worries about a partial shutdown of the United States government extending into January weighed on the dollar.  Mexico's peso strengthened 0.7 percent in holiday-

thinned trading, while Chile's currency rose for the first time in eight sessions, up 0.1 percent in a shortened trading day.

The Colombian peso firmed after four straight days of losses.

Stocks markets declined between 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent as investor sentiment, already frayed by worries of a slowdown in global growth, worsened on the political uncertainty in the United States.

Financial markets in Brazil, Argentina and Peru were closed on Monday for Christmas Eve and Latin American markets will be closed on Tuesday for Christmas.