EMERGING MARKETS-Brazilian stocks lead Latam equities lower

By Pranav Kashyap

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies were mixed on Friday as regional stocks sent conflicting signals and investors digested a week packed with high-impact economic data.

The previous session's pullback, in addition to the day's losses caused the indexes tracking Latin American equities .MILA00000PUS and currencies .MILA00000CUS to give up most of their weekly gains.

On the day, the equity gauge fell 2.3%, while the currency index lost 0.8%.

The EM rally slowed as global risk appetite was reduced by concerns about tightening margins in the tech sector that dragged U.S. equities lower overnight.

Peruvian stocks .MXNUAMPESCPGPE, which had led the region with a 45% surge in 2025, fell by 1.2%.

PERUVIAN PRESIDENT IS UNDER PRESSURE

Congress late on Thursday gathered enough signatures to open debate on the removal and censure of Peruvian President Jose Jeri following a scandal tied to reports of undisclosed meetings with a Chinese businessman.

The sol PEN=, after snapping a five-session winning streak a day earlier, was flat.

By contrast, the Argentine peso ARS= was on track for its best week since October as markets welcomed a political win for President Javier Milei. His flagship labor reform bill cleared the Senate in a step towards the implementation of the libertarian leader's broader overhaul agenda.

Brazil's real BRL= was precariously close to erasing the week's gains. It turned negative after a run of inflation prints suggested the economy is cooling, fueling expectations the central bank could begin cutting rates as soon as March.

That would likely be an inflection point for a currency that drew strong support through 2025 from Brazil's 15% rates. The real's "carry" appeal could face a tougher test if policymakers kick off an easing cycle, something the central bank has already hinted at in the minutes of its previous meeting.

The real lost 0.5% on Friday.

"There are always potential risks. Investors are already very optimistic and their allocation to equities is already historically very high, so that means that it could be vulnerable to a change in news flow," Michael Metcalfe at State Street said.

Despite the day's losses of over 2%, the country's stock index .BVSP was still set for a sixth straight week of gains, its longest winning streak since May last year.

Outside Latin America, Russia's central bank surprised the market by cutting its policy rate by 50 basis points to 15.5% and signaled it could go lower still to support a slowing wartime economy strained by elevated borrowing costs. The rouble gained 0.8% against the dollar.

Back in the region, the week's data barrage kept inflation in focus. Brazil showed signs of easing price pressures, in Mexico and Argentina, inflation accelerated, Peru held rates steady, and a poll suggested Chile would lower interest rates.

Faced with so much information, some investors locked in profits.

Chile's .SPIPSA and Colombia's .COLCAP equity markets were on course for a third consecutive weekly decline, their longest losing run in more than a year and a half.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies: