*

Brazil's c.bank hikes interest rates by 100-bps, as

expected

*

Colombia's peso briefly hits over six-week low

*

Turkish cenbank hikes overnight lending rate to 46%

*

Latam stocks down 0.8%, FX off 0.4%

(Updates with mid-session trading)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal

March 20 (Reuters) - Latin American markets slipped on

Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's signal that it was in

no hurry to cut interest rates pushed up the dollar, while

concerns about the health of the U.S. economy persisted.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the Trump

administration's initial policies, including extensive import

tariffs, appear to have tilted the U.S. economy toward slower

growth and at least temporarily higher inflation.

Still, Fed policymakers still expect the central bank to

deliver two quarter-percentage-point rate cuts by the end of

this year, matching their projection in December.

"It's probably a bit of a combination of one day

profit-taking and a little bit of maybe a stabilization of the

dollar after the Fed move yesterday," said Malcolm Dorson, head

of EM Strategy at Global X.

Dorson said LatAm markets have had a "fantastic run" so

far this year on the back of weakness in the dollar, rising

commodity prices and some softening in U.S. President Donald

Trump's tariff rhetoric from what was previously expected.

Brazil's real weakened 0.4% overshadowing the central

bank's decision to raise interest rates by 100 basis points for

the third consecutive time, as expected, and signaling a smaller

rate hike at its next policy meeting.

"Brazil is facing a similar but more drastic situation as

the Fed, slowing growth but a rising inflation outlook. The

central bank is going to have a hard time going forward," said

Brad Bechtel, global head of FX at Jefferies.

Mexico's peso weakened 0.4%. The country's economy

likely fell 0.7% in February from the same month a year earlier,

a preliminary estimate showed.

Chile's peso was the biggest decliner, down 1.1%,

set to snap a five session win streak, as copper prices

retreated after touching multi-month highs. Colombia's peso

dropped 0.5%, hitting its lowest in over six weeks

earlier in the session.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has tapped German Avila

Plazas as the country's new finance minister, a source told

Reuters, after the former minister Diego Guevara announced his

resignation amid clashes over budget cuts.

News of Guevara stepping down earlier this week had sent the

peso down more than 1% against the dollar.

The broader gauge of Latin American currencies

slipped 0.4%, while stocks fell

0.8%, both on track to snap a six-session gaining streak.

Brazil's Bovespa slipped 0.4%, bogged down by losses

in industrials and utilities, and was set for its first

single-day decline in seven.

Elsewhere, South Africa's rand remained under

pressure, down 0.2% despite the country's central bank pausing

its rate-cutting cycle.

Turkey's lira appreciated 0.1% after hitting a

record low of 42 in the last session after the country's central

bank hiked its overnight lending rate to 46% in an interim

monetary policy committee meeting.

Turkish assets were hit hard on Wednesday after authorities

detained President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival.

In Venezuela, a report said the Trump's administration is

considering a plan to extend Chevron's ( CVX ) license to pump

oil in the country.

HIGHLIGHTS

** Brazil's Minerva vows to cut debt after paying for large

acquisition

** Brazil's Haddad says recession not needed to bring

inflation down

** Mexico's northern state to receive $3.7 billion

investments, minister says

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

MSCI Emerging Markets 1140.19 -0.27

MSCI LatAm 2131.5 -0.84

Brazil Bovespa 132026.07 -0.36

Mexico IPC 53000.43 -0.11

Chile IPSA 7575.53 -0.26

Argentina Merval 2361722.0 -1.267

9

Colombia COLCAP 1609.75 -0.45

Brazil real 5.6713 -0.4

Mexico peso 20.146 -0.38

Chile peso 926.28 -1.08

Colombia peso 4171.5 -0.51

Peru sol 3.624 -0.25

Argentina peso (interbank) 1068.5 0.0467945

72

Argentina peso (parallel) 1245 2.8112449

8