Chile central bank says injecting $4b to halt peso slide
Chile's central bank announced a $4 billion injection to stop a currency slide that saw the peso reach historic lows on two successive days.
The peso fell to 795 to the dollar at the close after a previous record low of 783 on Tuesday. The bank said it had taken the measure to "mitigate eventual tensions" in the financial markets.
It expressed fear that the combination of social unrest and a lack of cash flow at the end of the year would see the currency fall even further.
The foreign currency injection will be done in the form of 30- and 90-day tenders for futures between November 14 and January 9.
The peso's previous record low was 761 to the dollar in October 2002.
The peso has been hit hard by nearly four weeks of protests against the economic policies of right-wing President Sebastian Pinera.
Pinera has announced a raft of measures to pacify demonstrators angry at social and economic inequality, but many are demanding the president stand down. The fall in the currency has raised fears that inflation will increase and GDP growth will slow.
Asian markets fluctuated Thursday with investors shifting cautiously following another Wall Street record as Donald Trump hailed progress in the China trade talks, while eyes are also on Hong Kong after another night of violent protests.
Trading floors were edgy as a volatile week continued, with very few details from Washington and Beijing on negotiations for their mini tariffs agreement.
Trump's comments that "our trade agreement with China is moving along very rapidly" provided some support, though observers said markets were looking for something concrete to buy into.
"Risk-off continues to linger seemingly on the lack of good news on trade talks with China," said AxiTrader senior market analyst Stephen Innes. "At this stage, even a date and a location... would be a good thing."
Equities have seen healthy rallies in recent weeks on optimism the two sides would soon reach a partial deal as part of a wider agreement to end their long-running trade war that has hit the global economy.
Michelle Girard, chief US economist at Natwest Markets, told Bloomberg TV: "We've been pushing back on a lot of this trade optimism and it's felt kind of lonely because markets have certainly embraced the news that we might have a short-term deal.
"We are not there yet." Adding to the unease was a report that China was hesitating over aspects of the deal, which came after Trump dismissed Beijing's claims last week they had a plan to roll back some tariffs as the talks progressed.
Tokyo fell 0.2 percent by the break after data showed Japan's economy grew at a slower pace than forecast in the third quarter as it was hit by trade wars.