Emerging-market Currencies Fall To Record Lows As Stocks Sell Off

Several emerging-market currencies were at or near record lows against the dollar Thursday as risk-averse sentiment gripped global financial markets. The record lows included the Turkish lira , which shed 0.9% to 3.07 to the dollar; the Mexican peso , which fell 0.4% to 17.34 to the dollar; and the Brazilian real , which shed 0.7% to 4.24 to the dollar. The South African rand was the day's biggest decliner, down 1.2% to 14.08 rand to the dollar, its weakest level since Aug. 24, when the rand briefly touched an intraday low of 14.50 rand to the dollar. Elsewhere, the Malaysian ringgit fell to a session low of 4.45 ringgit to the dollar, its weakest level since the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s. "There's a broad negative sentiment in the market. Stocks are down," said Ilan Solot, vice president of of emerging-market currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. Emerging-market currencies have been weakening since the Federal Reserve opted to leave interest rates unchanged a week ago.