UPDATE 2-Right-wing candidate Kast takes early lead in Chile's presidential election

Kast had been ahead in opinion polls ahead of the vote, running on a platform of fighting crime and curbing migration.

Jose Antonio Kast, from the far-right Republican Party that he founded, has taken an early lead against leftist Jeannette Jara in the Chilean presidential election, inital results showed on Sunday.

With 4.46% of votes counted, Kast had secured 59.83%, against Jara's 40.17%. Kast had been ahead in opinion polls ahead of the vote, running on a platform of fighting crime and curbing migration. While Chile remains one of the safest countries in Latin America, a recent surge in organized crime and immigration has rattled the electorate and become the main concern among voters.

A Kast victory is likely to be cheered by investors who are hoping that a market-friendly government will accelerate economic reforms, including deregulation and changes to the copper-rich country's pension system and capital markets.

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