Surprise Exit of Chilean Finance Minister Who Calmed Markets Jolts Traders

Former Finance Minister Mario Marcel helped reduce the perception of risk in Chile to the lowest level in years, no mean feat in a government that originally intended to overhaul the country’s free-market economy and backed a rewrite of the constitution. His surprise resignation Thursday jolted traders.

The cost of insuring the nation’s bonds against default for five years rose 1.8 basis points to 53.1, the biggest move in six weeks. The extra yield investors demand to hold Chilean debt over US Treasuries climbed 1 basis point to 103, rising from the lowest in 15 years earlier in the week, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. indexes.