To The Moon

By Nikhil Sharma

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Latin American equities advanced on Thursday, while currencies also strengthened against a softer dollar, after U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation ending the longest government shutdown in history.

MSCI's index for Latin American equities .MILA00000PUS rose 0.54% after falling about 0.8% in the previous session, with moves mirroring emerging markets elsewhere.

An equivalent gauge for currencies .MILA00000CUS hit an all-time high and was last up 0.27% after modest losses on Wednesday.

In contrast, the dollar index =USD slipped 0.27% amid expectations of higher volatility with the release of economic data backlog that had clouded the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy outlook.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill on Wednesday to extend federal funding through January 30, ending the shutdown and allowing furloughed employees to return to work as government services reopen in the coming days.

In Brazil, the real BRL= added 0.1% and the main stock index .BVSP rose 0.2%, supported by higher crude prices.

The Brazilian real has been a standout, up 14.4% this year so far, thanks to near two-decade-high interest rates. But high borrowing costs have been weighing on growth, as shown by data indicating an unexpected decline in retail sales in September from August.

Most Latin American assets have outperformed in 2025, outpacing Wall Street, underscoring investors' push to increase exposure to emerging markets for better returns.

"They are (Latin American currencies) so strongly outperforming that it is quite surprising, given that they have all their own political problems... There are still some risk factors, but the market right now is in a mood that it is not really seeing this," said Michael Pfister, FX analyst at Commerzbank.

A study said most big emerging economies, which include Brazil and Mexico, can weather U.S. tariffs with limited damage, citing Mexico's growing policy and infrastructure resilience and Brazil's expanding trade ties.

Mexico's local equity index .MXX rose 0.33%, while the currency MXN= strengthened 0.13% to a near two-month high. Chile's peso CLP= rose 0.43% and the main equity index .SPIPSA slipped 0.31%.

Chile's central bank said the unanimous decision to keep the benchmark interest rate on hold at 4.75% was the "only plausible option" at its October meeting, the minutes showed.

Peruvian markets braced for a monetary policy decision at 1800 ET, with broad expectations that the central bank will keep rates unchanged at 4.25%. The country's Lima Stock Exchange .MXNUAMPESCPGPE fell 0.5%, while the currency sol PEN= edged up 0.2%.

In Argentina, the local peso ARS= was steady and the benchmark stock index .MERV fell 0.8%.

Elsewhere in emerging markets, the South African rand ZAR=D3 jumped 0.4% to near a three-year high against the dollar, driven by optimism following the previous day's budget review, in which the government lowered its inflation target to 3%, the first such change in 25 years.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index .JTOPI rose 1.2% to a record high amid speculation that S&P Global Ratings may upgrade South Africa's sovereign rating at its scheduled review on Friday.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

((Nikhil.Sharma@thomsonreuters.com;))