EMERGING MARKETS-Argentine peso hits record low, strong dollar dents Latam FX

* Fed officials divided over need for more hikes- July minutes * IMF in touch with Argentina presidential candidates -source * Latam FX down 0.1%, stocks add 0.2% (Updated at 1911 GMT) By Ankika Biswas and Bansari Mayur Kamdar Aug 16 (Reuters) – Argentina’s peso touched a fresh historic low in the black market and stocks hit an all-time high amid growing political and economic uncertainty, while the U.S. dollar extended gains after the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes and kept most Latin American currencies under pressure. The Argentine peso weakened to as much as 785-per-dollar in the popular parallel market, more than double the official rate of 350 fixed by the central bank on Monday until the October general elections. The peso has been knocked down since far-right libertarian economist Javier Milei unexpectedly won a primary election over the weekend. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached out to the camps of Argentina presidential candidates Milei and Patricia Bullrich to coordinate meetings, a source close to the fund said on Tuesday. “It’s a very blurry outlook for the Argentine peso… however, there are some investors being opportunistic with the quick drop in currency and value of bonds, but the central bank will need to unleash strong measures to stabilize the currency,” said Maria Calderon, Head of LATAM sales at MarketAxess. Argentina’s leading stock index S&P Merval, often used as a hedge against inflation, hit a record high and was last up 6.1%. Broadly, stocks in Latin America gained 0.2%. The MSCI Latin American currencies index slipped 0.1%, reversing an early advance, as the dollar gained after minutes showed Fed officials were divided over the need for more rate hikes in the July meeting, with “some participants” citing risks to the economy. “Latam markets are deeply affected by the Fed’s decisions because that determines the spread between the U.S. rates and their local currencies, while also taking into account all the local risks,” Calderon noted, while adding that any pause in the Fed’s market-punishing interest rate hikes may dent the dollar and in turn boost Latam markets. A drop in crude oil prices also bruised top exporter Colombia’s peso, while lower copper prices dented top producers Chile’s peso and Peru’s sol, all down between 0.6% and 1.5%. Bucking the trend was Brazil’s real gaining 0.2%. The country’s central bank governor Roberto Campos Neto said average core inflation has been falling but remains well above what policymakers would like, reaffirming the fight against inflation has not been won. With less than a month until the ruling party’s presidential candidate is announced, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum grew her lead to a 13-point advantage, a poll showed. Mexico’s peso was up 0.2% amid increased demand for the local currency. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1911 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 973.68 -0.83 MSCI LatAm 2366.18 0.17 Brazil Bovespa 116403.73 0.2 Mexico IPC 53788.58 0.41 Chile IPSA 6185.00 -0.52 Argentina MerVal 560789.54 6.363 Colombia COLCAP 1135.76 0.5 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.9795 0.15 Mexico peso 17.1104 0.17 Chile peso 867 -1.53 Colombia peso 4127.5 -0.80 Peru sol 3.7166 -0.60 Argentina peso (interbank) 349.9500 0.01 Argentina peso (parallel) 770 -5.19 (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; editing by Deepa Babington and Alistair Bell)