EMERGING MARKETS-Latam stocks, FX eke out weekly gains; Argentina stocks outperform peers

* Argentina’s Merval index sees best week on record * Mexico’s Q3 GDP data better than expected * Brazilian stocks fall after Lula vetoes payroll tax exemption extension * Stocks down 0.6%, FX flat (Updated at 3 p.m. ET/2000 GMT) By Shubham Batra and Lisa Pauline Mattackal Nov 24 (Reuters) – Latin American stocks slipped on Friday, hurt by Brazilian losses, but Argentina’s Merval index outperformed peers and was set to log its best week ever after election of Javier Milei as Argentina’s president. Both the broader Latin American stocks and currency indexes were set to rise slightly on a weekly basis, the second straight week of gains for both, as the dollar remained weak on expectations that U.S. interest rates have peaked. MSCI’s index tracking Latin American equities slid 0.6% on the day, led by a 0.8% decline in Brazil’s Bovespa. Brazilian stocks slipped after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vetoed a bill which was set to extend a payroll tax exemption to some 17 sectors until 2027. Most of Bovespa’s sub-sector indexes were in the red. Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said the government will introduce a set of measures to help the sectors affected by the veto. Elsewhere, Argentina’s S&P Merval index soared 4.3% and hit a record high. The index is on track to log weekly gains of 42%. Continuing his signature campaign pledge, Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei said on Friday the closure of the country’s central bank was a “non-negotiable matter,” according to a statement his office posted on social media platform X. Goldman Sachs said in a note on Friday, “We remain attentive to any economic policy announcement by elected-president Milei, as well as his appointment of the next finance minister.” MSCI’s index tracking regional currencies was about flat against the dollar,, on track for weekly gains of 0.4%. Colombia’s peso was the strongest regional performer, up 0.7%. Mexico’s peso climbed 0.4% against the greenback after data showed Mexico’s economy grew 1.1% in the third quarter from the previous quarter, slightly above preliminary estimates a month ago and a Refinitiv poll showing 0.9%. Brazil’s real gained 0.1% against the dollar, while Chile’s peso rose 0.2%. Both the currencies were supported by steady oil prices, with the Brent crude futures hovering above $81 a barrel on Friday as traders awaited next week’s OPEC+ meeting, which could bring some kind of agreement on output cuts in 2024. More broadly, indexes tracking global emerging market stocks and currencies both gained 0.4% on the week, with November looking to be a strong month for the asset class. Brazil’s Petrobras reversed earlier losses, rising 0.3% after the company said it will boost investments to around $102 billion within the 2024-2028 period. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2000 GMT: Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 980.80 -0.74 MSCI LatAm 2457.94 -0.57 Brazil Bovespa 125559.71 -0.8 Mexico IPC 53139.05 0.15 Chile IPSA 5776.74 -0.52 Argentina MerVal 916965.62 4.323 Colombia COLCAP 1131.17 0.3 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.8985 -0.04 Mexico peso 17.1189 0.35 Chile peso 871.7 0.15 Colombia peso 4037.12 0.65 Peru sol 3.7205 0.13 Argentina peso 357.5500 -0.13 (interbank) Argentina peso 975 7.18 (parallel) (Reporting by Shubham Batra and Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru Editing by Alistair Bell and Richard Chang)