SAO PAULO/BUENOS AIRES: Argentine equities and the peso both lost ground on Monday as analysts said intervention in the foreign exchange market by the nation's central bank may prove less successful than originally hoped.
Traders are keeping an eye on ongoing talks between the Argentine government and the International Monetary Fund. The multilateral lender is contemplating measures to strengthen its $50 billion financing line with the nation after a recent rout in the peso, which has fallen some 50 percent against the dollar year-to-date.
The central bank has auctioned off hundreds of millions of dollars of reserves in recent days in a bid to stem losses.
"With the IMF agreement, it's not very clear how far the central bank is willing to intervene, and it seems that the (reserve) auctions are not bringing the results that the bank wants," said Matias Roig, a senior financial adviser at Portfolio Personal.
The peso had fallen 1.26 percent against the dollar in afternoon trade, while the benchmark Merval equities index was off 0.85 percent. The Argentine currency has risen or fallen at least 1 percent against the dollar every day for the last two weeks.
Across Latin America, equities markets were mixed after US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to slap tariffs on some $267 billion of Chinese goods, while political volatility in Brazil, where right-wing front-runner Jair Bolsonaro is recovering from a serious stabbing incident, also weighed.
Mexico's benchmark IPC index fell 0.36 percent, while Brazil's Bovespa climbed 0.2 percent after spending the morning slightly in the red.
The index was heavily supported by shares of state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, whose preferred and common shares both rose over 2 percent on Monday as oil prices rose.
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