Emerging markets currencies tank on uncertainty

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Currencies in emerging markets plunged Monday as a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating to AA+ and contagion fears in the euro-zone lured investors into safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen USDJPY -0.59% and the Swiss franc USDCHF -0.03% . The Brazilian real USDBRL +1.66% shed 0.8% against the dollar, the South Korean won USDKRW -0.08% dropped 1.6%, South African rand USDZAR +1.07% fell 2.7% and the Russian ruble USDRUB +1.82% was down 2.1% against the greenback, according to data from FactSet Research. "As risk aversion continues to rise amidst heightened market volatility, EM investors are becoming far more selective," said analysts from BNY Mellon in a note. The analysts pointed at the exchange rate between the dollar and the Mexican peso as an emerging markets currency crisis indicator. The dollar USDMXN +0.58% was up 1.0% against the peso to 12.17 peso per dollar.