EMERGING MARKETS-Assets mixed on risk appetite, fx concerns
* LatAm stocks up on risk appetite, Chinese data
* Brazil's real currency down on measures concern
* Mexican peso up on rising risk appetite, dollar weakness
* Emerging bonds flat as U.S. fixed income mkt closed
By Manuela Badawy
NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks and currencies were mixed on Wednesday on the back of strong Chinese economic data, and on concerns Brazil would impose further measures in the real foreign exchange market.
A jump in Chinese factory output to a 19-month high in October spurred appetite for riskier emerging markets assets and reinforced optimism about the global economic recovery.
China, the world's third largest economy and a voracious commodities consumer, is widely considered a driver in a global economic recovery. [ID:nPEK212006]
Latin American stocks gained 0.05 percent on the MSCI Latin American stock index .MILA00000PUS, with Brazil's Bovespa index .BVSP rising 0.19 percent and Mexico's IPC index .MXX surging 1 percent.
"We continue to see very strong fundamental developments as the outlook for real economic activity in the region for 2010 continues to improve," said Alexander Kazan, vice president of Latin American securities at Auerbach-Grayson, an international brokerage firm in New York.
"We are seeing in the third-quarter earnings results that for the most part, companies are starting to see positive effects from this bottoming and fairly strong recovery in economic activity throughout the region."
A rise in Chinese industrial production bodes well for Latin American countries which mostly are major exporters of raw materials and other commodities to the Asian country.
CURRENCIES MIXED
Brazil's currency, the real (BRBY: Quote, Profile, Research), weakened 0.29 percent to 1.722 per dollar as investors raised concerns over further measures in the foreign exchange market to curtail the strength of the real.
"As we move through the 1.70 level on the real exchange rate we continue to see some nervousness that the government may come out and announce some measure intended to address that," Kazan said.
On Tuesday Brazil's finance minister, Guido Mantega, said the real has become overvalued as foreign inflows have poured dollars into Brazil. [ID:nN10303818]
In October, Brazil instituted a 2 percent tax on inflows into stocks and fixed-income investments. The real weakened 2.1 percent on the day the tax was instituted, but firmed the next day.
Meanwhile, the Mexican peso MEX01MXN= rose 0.21 percent to 13.158 per dollar benefiting from rising risk appetite and a drop in the dollar, which hit a 15-month low against major currencies on the view that U.S. interest rates will remain low well into next year.
U.S. bond markets did not operate in observance of Veterans Day, bringing muted trading environment in emerging markets.
(Reporting by Manuela Badawy; Editing by Diane Craft)
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