* Taiwanese stocks at record high

* China left benchmark lending rates unchanged in June

* Colombian assets seen extending gains after De La

Espriella's victory

By Avinash P and Ragini Mathur

June 22 (Reuters) - Emerging market stocks climbed to a

record high on Monday, driven by AI-led gains in East Asian tech

and progress in Middle East peace talks, while Colombian assets

prepared to jump following a narrow presidential election

victory for right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella.

MSCI's index of EM equities rose 0.9% to trade at

record high levels, led by Taiwan's benchmark surging

2.8% to a fresh peak, while South Korea's KOSPI climbed

0.7% to hover near Friday's all-time high.

The two tech-heavy markets, the largest components in the

MSCI gauge, have surged more than 110% and 60% respectively this

year, fuelled by stellar global demand for artificial

intelligence.

In Latin America, Colombian right-wing candidate Abelardo De

La Espriella clinched a narrow victory in Sunday's presidential

election, according to an initial ballot count.

U.S.-listed shares of Colombian companies gained in

premarket trading, with the Global X MSCI Colombia ETF

jumping 4.4%.

"The victory for right-wing Abelardo de la Espriella in

Colombia's presidential election should pave the way for more

pro-business policymaking, tighter fiscal policy and improved

relations with the U.S., which should support Colombian assets,"

said Kimberley Sperrfechter, senior emerging markets economist

at Capital Economics.

Broader global sentiment was also supported by diplomatic

progress in the Middle East, which helped oil prices to easeby

1.7%. A joint statement from mediating nations Qatar and

Pakistan said the U.S. and Iran have agreed to a roadmap toward

a final peace deal within 60 days following a successful first

round of talks.

In China, the CSI index advanced 2.4%, while the

Shanghai index gained 1.8%. As expected, China left its

benchmark lending rates unchanged for the 13th consecutive month

in June.

Meanwhile, EM currencies fell against a firmer U.S. dollar

. The broader EM currency index was down

0.3%, while the South Korean won declined 0.5% to a

two-week low.

Elsewhere, Turkish stocks rose 0.7% and the lira

firmed.

South African equities remained flat, while the

rand edged lower.

Central European currencies depreciated against both the

euro and the dollar.

"The CEE FX market is dominated by a stronger U.S. dollar,

similar to the rest of the EM space, following last week's Fed

meeting," said Frantisek Taborsky, EMEA FX & FI strategist at

ING. "We have seen some pressure on currencies in the region in

recent days."

Stocks in the CEE region were mixed. Hungary and

Romania edged higher by 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively, but

the Polish benchmark declined 0.3%.

Polish retail sales growth accelerated in May though it fell

short of analyst forecasts. Meanwhile, Polish corporate wages

rose by an annual 5.8% in May, below expectations for a 6.0%

rise.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** SK Hynix overtakes Samsung to become South Korea's most

valuable company

** China targets US rare earth and other firms with export

controls

** South Korea market watchdog offers rare mea culpa over

leveraged ETFs

For TOP NEWS across emerging markets

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For TURKISH market report, see

For RUSSIAN market report, see