*

Latam equities index up 1.2%

*

Real firms after six-day run of losses

By Sruthi Shankar

June 6 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks rose on

Thursday, echoing an upbeat mood on Wall Street as signs of a

softening U.S. labor market supported expectations of interest

rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year.

The MSCI index of Latam stocks climbed 1.2%,

rising for a second day as Wall Street's main indexes

hit all-time highs before pulling back slightly.

The dollar dipped against major currencies after data showed

the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment

benefits increased last week, pointing to cooling labor market

strength and giving the Fed room to cut rates this year.

Financial markets are pricing in a first Fed rate cut in

September and traders are increasingly confident of a second

rate cut in December. Focus now shifts to the monthly U.S. jobs

report for May, due on Friday.

"In the current market climate, anything below expectations

should be positive for risk assets and negative for the U.S.

dollar, as it should boost the likelihood of rate cuts this

year," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade

Nation.

The Brazilian real firmed after a six-day run of

losses against the dollar, although other regional currencies

struggled.

The Mexican peso slipped in volatile trade after a

Sunday landslide election victory for the ruling MORENA party

and its coalition raised concerns among investors that it could

allow them to pass constitutional reforms unopposed.

Mexico's equity markets however gained 1.4%,

recouping much of the losses driven by the election surprise.

Emerging markets attracted foreign portfolio inflows for a

seventh straight month in May thanks to investors pouring money

into bonds, but persistently high U.S. interest rates are

dimming the outlook, a report from the Institute of

International Finance showed.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

Latest Daily %

change

MSCI Emerging Markets 1073.41 1

MSCI LatAm 2319.94 1.24

Brazil Bovespa 122313.72 0.75

Mexico IPC 55178.66 1.41

Chile IPSA 6649.68 -0.09

Argentina MerVal 1548793.02 -1.398

Colombia COLCAP 1407.53 0.08

Currencies Latest Daily %

change

Brazil real 5.2622 0.65

Mexico peso 17.5530 -0.34

Chile peso 910.7 -0.26

Colombia peso 3943.19 -0.40

Peru sol 3.746 -0.25

Argentina peso (interbank) 898.0000 0.11