The Rio Times
LatAm Market Brief
Monday, May 25, 2026  ·  Latin American Financial Intelligence
Good morning. Welcome to your LatAm Market Brief — and to a quiet holiday Monday. Wall Street, London and Hong Kong are all closed, leaving Latin America to trade alone after Friday's region-wide selloff on an Iran-uranium snag. The weekend then flipped the script: a Trump peace announcement sent oil down roughly 5% and Asia surging into the open.
IBOVESPA
176,210
▼ −0.81%
USD/BRL
5.0398
above R$5
IPSA · CHILE
10,563.88
▼ −0.34%
MERVAL · ARG
2,846,220
▼ −1.08%
COLCAP · COL
2,083.39
▼ −0.85%
IPC · MÉXICO
68,333
▼ −0.07%
BRENT
$98.12
▼ −5.2%
S&P 500
7,473
▲ +0.37%
Reflecting the Friday, May 22 close · Brent shown overnight · Selic 14.50% · U.S. markets closed today (Memorial Day)
The Morning Call

The world bid risk overnight, and Brazil has no easy way to catch it. Asia extended Friday's rally with conviction — the Nikkei added another 3.10% to 65,304, a two-session 5.86% surge — but the NYSE, Nasdaq, the LSE and Hong Kong are all dark for holidays, leaving the LatAm session without its usual Wall Street handoff. The Ibovespa enters Monday at 176,210 with momentum still negative; the domestic calendar — the BCB Focus survey, April Current Account and FDI, and FGV Consumer Confidence — is the only live catalyst, while Brent's overnight slide on US–Iran progress is a disinflation positive but a direct Petrobras headwind.

Read the full Morning Call →
Markets Across Latin America
🇧🇷 BRAZIL
Ibovespa slips 0.81% as the real climbs back above R$5

Brazil's benchmark fell 0.81% to 176,210 on Friday as Iran's refusal to ship enriched uranium abroad complicated the US peace talks. Petrobras dropped near 2% and the real weakened back above the R$5 line to R$5.0398. Wall Street closed at records into Memorial Day, but Brazil decoupled lower — and the 177,284 Kijun gate now stands as overhead resistance.

Full report →
🇲🇽 MEXICO
IPC holds steady as Sheinbaum signs the EU trade deal

The IPC steadied at 68,333 (−0.07%), a deep intraday wick to 67,914 bought back to the Kijun even as Brazil and Colombia fell on the same Iran snag. President Sheinbaum signed the EU Modernized Global Agreement with Von der Leyen and Costa — scrapping tariffs on 99% of bilateral goods and giving Mexico a credible second-track trade architecture as Trump's USMCA review looms. Banorte led at +2.29%; Peñoles trailed at −4.06%.

Full report →
🇨🇱 CHILE
IPSA edges down 0.34% but snaps a four-week losing streak

The IPSA slipped 0.34% to 10,563.88 in the first session back after Thursday's Navy Day closure — a shallow giveback on thin volumes after Wednesday's 2.40% Iran-detente rally. The week still landed green: +1.4% in pesos and +2% USD-adjusted, breaking a four-week losing streak. Copper is doing the structural work, holding near $6.14/lb after Cochilco lifted its 2026 forecast to $5.55.

Full report →
🇦🇷 ARGENTINA
Merval eases 1.08% after the best week in Latin America

The Merval gave back 1.08% to 2,846,220 after Thursday's 3.19% breakout, but still netted +5.1% on the week — the strongest in the region by more than four points. YPF's ADR jumped 8.2% to $47.99, a 15-year high, on the Vaca Muerta shale-oil ramp. Country risk fell 24bp to 514bps, the closest to the symbolic 500 line since the 2018 Macri-IMF cycle.

Full report →
🇨🇴 COLOMBIA
COLCAP falls to a cycle low as the poll blackout begins

Colombia again decoupled lower: COLCAP dropped 0.85% to a cycle low of 2,083.39 on a textbook Open=High exhaustion candle. Ecopetrol led the slide, off 2.46% to COP $2,575 on softer oil. The seven-day poll-publication blackout now binds — Sunday's surveys were the last public read before the May 31 first-round vote, so the market trades on whispers from here.

Full report →
Around the Region

María Corina Machado declared her presidential candidacy from Panama, vowing to return to Venezuela by year-end as US Southern Command ran an embassy drill from the USS Iwo Jima. Bolivia's paro turned lethal again — a fifth death — as President Rodrigo Paz signalled an ultimatum after weekend talks collapsed. Colombia's three main candidates closed their campaigns six days before the May 31 vote, Ecuador's Daniel Noboa marked his first reelection anniversary claiming record-low poverty, and Codelco fired executives after an audit found 26,875 tons of inflated 2025 copper output.

Read the Latin American Pulse →
The Global Backdrop

With New York, London and Hong Kong all shut, Asia set the global tone — and doubled down on it. The Nikkei added another 3.10% to 65,304 atop Friday's 2.68%, a two-session 5.86% surge, with Taiwan's TAIEX up 3.14%. Crypto confirmed the risk-on tape, Bitcoin firming to around $77,300, while EUR/USD pushed to 1.1647 on the same soft-landing narrative. Brent fell roughly 5% overnight toward $98 on progress in the US–Iran talks. Wall Street itself closed Friday at records — the S&P 500 at 7,473 — before the long weekend.

Read the LatAm Pre-Open →
That's the morning picture. Thanks for reading — enjoy the day, and we'll see you in tomorrow's brief.
— The Rio Times newsroom
The Rio Times
Latin American Financial Intelligence · riotimesonline.com
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