EMERGING MARKETS-Latin American equities jump as China signals openness

SAO PAULO, April 10 (Reuters) - Latin American markets rose on Tuesday, following a rally on Wall Street after Chinese Premier Xi Jinping promised to open up China's economy, easing concerns about trade tensions with the United States and their potential impact on the world economy. In a speech, Xi said China will widen market access to foreign investors, appearing to address recurring complaints by U.S. President Donald Trump. Among the measures China would take, he said, was raising foreign ownership limits in the automobile, shipbuilding and aircraft sectors. Xi's comments followed statements by Trump on Monday that were also considered conciliatory. During a cabinet meeting, the U.S. president said the United States would "probably" reach a deal with China including tax reciprocity and intellectual property protections. The softer rhetoric between the United States and China sent both the benchmark U.S. S&P 500 stock index and the Dow Jones about 2 percent higher. In Latin America, Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index climbed 1.05 percent, Mexico's IPC rose 0.77 percent, and Argentina's Merval rose 0.8 percent. "That optimism is coming from the Xi Jingping speech itself," said Jason Vieira, chief economist at Infinity Asset Management in Sao Paulo. The biggest gainer on the Bovespa was Marfrig Global Foods SA, whose shares climbed 15 percent on Tuesday. The stock had jumped almost 20 percent on Monday when it announced plans to acquire U.S.-based National Beef Packing Co for $969 million, making it the world's No. 2 beef processor. Shares in planemaker Embraer SA climbed 5 percent after news reports that negotiations regarding a possible tie-up with Boeing Co were advancing well. Hypera SA, Brazil's largest listed producer of over-the-counter medicines, posted the only significant loss on the index, with shares falling 5 percent after Brazilian police searched the company's offices amid a corruption probe involving a former executive. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1539 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1174.60 0.99 0.4 MSCI LatAm 3015.28 0.55 6.04 Brazil Bovespa 84170.95 1.04 10.17 Mexico IPC 48435.37 0.78 -1.86 Chile IPSA 5609.90 0.28 0.81 Chile IGPA 28087.33 0.27 0.38 Argentina MerVal 32127.08 0.89 6.86 Colombia IGBC 12064.76 0.88 6.10 Venezuela IBC 7610.27 18.29 502.49 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.4093 0.34 -2.82 Mexico peso 18.2770 0.39 7.78 Chile peso 601.4 0.42 2.20 Colombia peso 2763.73 0.41 7.90 Peru sol 3.238 -0.03 -0.03 Argentina peso 20.1900 0.01 -7.88 (interbank) Argentina peso 20.38 0.64 -5.64 (parallel) (Reporting by Gram Slattery and Gabriela Mello; Editing by Bernadette Baum)