EMERGING MARKETS-Latam assets begin week in a slump as rates uncertainty lingers

* Brazil Treasury to issue two new dollar bonds * Merval index sets fresh record high * Slew of central bank meetings eyed * Colombia imports fall in November * Latam FX down 0.8%, stocks off 1.7% (Updated at 3pm ET/2000 GMT) By Amruta Khandekar and Lisa Pauline Mattackal Jan 22 (Reuters) - Most major Latin American currencies and stocks fell on Monday, starting the week in the red as investors stepped back from risk assets as they await a slew of major central bank policy decisions this week. MSCI's index of Latin American currencies slipped 0.8% while a gauge of regional stocks dropped 1.7% lower. Both indexes were set for their worst session in nearly a week. The Brazilian real slumped 1.1% to trade at 4.9848 to the dollar, while the Bovespa index lost 1%. Among individual stocks, shares of Brazilian retailer Lojas Renner fell 2.6% as analysts at Citi downgraded their recommendation on the firm to "neutral". Brazil's Treasury raised $4.5 billion via the sale of new 10-year and 30-year dollar-denominated bonds on Monday, a source told Reuters. Investors also digested a newly-unveiled 10-year industrial development plan, which Brazil's government hopes will kickstart the economy through state credits and subsidies. The Mexican peso dipped 0.6%, hovering above the 17 to the dollar level. The currency has stumbled this year after benefiting from its high interest rate differential with the U.S. as well as the trend of "nearshoring" in 2023. Assets in resources-rich Latin America have lost momentum in 2024 as traders scaled back bets of U.S. interest rate cuts and as concerns about demand from top consumer China weighed on commodity prices, but some analysts still see the currencies picking up in the near term. "Both MXN and BRL look good long bets from macro and political stand points for the near term," said Peter Frank, global currency analyst at In Touch Capital Markets. Investors now await decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan for further clues on the global monetary policy outlook. Decisions from the central banks of Turkey and South Africa are also due. The Colombian peso jumped 0.4%, while Peru's sol rose 0.2% as oil and copper prices turned higher. Data showed Colombia's imports fell 12.79% to $4.914 billion in November from the same month a year earlier. The COLCAP stock index was down 0.5%. Chile's peso pared gains during afternoon trading, about flat on the day, while the country's main stock benchmark advanced 1.3%. "External trade numbers and CPI have been net beneficial for the CLP as well with exports gaining on better terms of trade," Frank added. Argentinian stocks continued to rally, rising 3.8% to a fresh record high of 1.226 million points. Mexico-listed Grupo Bimbo and Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico slumped 7% and 4.3%, sending the country's benchmark stock index 1.3% lower. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2000 GMT: Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 963.82 -0.73 MSCI LatAm 2471.84 -1.7 Brazil Bovespa 126346.77 -1.01 Mexico IPC 54711.39 -1.34 Chile IPSA 5921.04 1.31 Argentina MerVal 1219680.85 3.814 Colombia COLCAP 1268.79 -0.45 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.9860 0.01 Mexico peso 17.1870 -0.63 Chile peso 909 0.06 Colombia peso 3902.5 0.35 Peru sol 3.7285 0.21 Argentina peso 821.4000 -0.19 (interbank) Argentina peso 1215 0.41 (parallel) (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar Editing by Tomasz Janowski)