EMERGING MARKETS-Peru's sol, bonds hit as no finance minister named; Mexican peso rise on GDP

By Susan Mathew July 30 (Reuters) - Peru's sol hit record lows and dollar bonds fell on Friday after newly elected President Pedro Castillo appointed a far-left prime minister but did not name a finance minister, while the Mexican peso firmed on strong economic growth numbers. Castillo appointed Guido Bellido, a member of his Marxist party, as prime minister and did not name a finance minister in his cabinet, raising uncertainty about the direction of policy and the economy. The move, which dimmed hopes for a moderate administration, sent the 2060 bond issue down 1.4 cents on the dollar to trade at 88.8 cents, near to one-month lows. The 2032 issue fell 1 cent, Refinitiv data showed. Peru's sol sank 2.4%, putting it on course to end around 4% lower in July - its eight straight monthly decline. "The noise is likely to put upside pressure on (the sol) in the near term," said strategists at Citi. "We move to neutral our stance on Peru sovereign in our model portfolio due to cabinet choices." Most other Latam currencies also fell against a strong dollar. Brazil's real weakened 0.4%, looking past data that showed public finances improved in June with government debt falling to 84% of GDP in June, lowest in a year. The real is set to break a three-month winning streak as political noise and rising COVID-19 cases weigh. Mexico's peso hit over three-week highs, extending gains to an eighth straight session - its longest winning streak in four years. Mexico's economy grew 19.7% in the second quarter compared with the same quarter a year earlier, when the formal and informal economy was largely shut down by coronavirus pandemic restrictions. It was the first year-on-year quarterly growth since before the pandemic. But as the coronavirus crisis continues and cases rise sharply, the economy is likely to slow in the third quarter, said William Jackson, chief EM economist at Capital Economics. Mexican shares, however, fell 0.4% after having scaled an all-time high last session. The fall broke an eight day winning run during which it gained 5.2%. Among other regional shares markets, a 5% slide for car rental firm Localiza after second quarter results was the most on Brazil's Bovespa index, while declining iron ore prices weighed on miner Vale. MSCI's index of Latin American stocks was down 1.4%, in line with a global downturn in equity markets as China shares fell on regulatory concerns, while Wall Street indices were weighed by disappointing Amazon results. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1411 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1281.47 -1.08 MSCI LatAm 2575.12 -1.4 Brazil Bovespa 124730.63 -0.75 Mexico IPC 51432.81 -0.39 Chile IPSA 4286.96 0.78 Argentina MerVal - - Colombia COLCAP 1244.60 -0.1 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.0979 -0.40 Mexico peso 19.8079 0.15 Chile peso 759.7 -0.20 Colombia peso 3855.31 -0.30 Peru sol 4.0084 -2.4 Argentina peso 96.6800 -0.03 (interbank) (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Alistair Bell)