EMERGING MARKETS-Latam FX, stocks mixed with focus on Jackson Hole symposium

By Purvi Agarwal and Sukriti Gupta

Aug 20 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies and stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors awaited a meeting of global central bankers and hoped for further progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.

Investors are closely monitoring Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium for hints about the central bank's monetary policy stance.

The dollar index =USD initially fell after U.S. President Donald Trump called on Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign, but pared losses following minutes from the Fed's latest meeting that revealed only two policymakers supported an interest rate cut last month. The index was last down 0.1%.

Brazil's real BRL= strengthened 0.5%, the most among Latin American peers, while Mexico's peso MXN= and Colombia's currency COP= advanced 0.3% each.

Other regional currencies declined between 0.1% and 0.8%.

"The market is expecting volatility and core rates to come down, which is usually conducive for the dollar to be in a neutral to declining environment," said Jae Lee, co-portfolio manager of local currency at the TCW Emerging Markets Group.

"That's really supportive for Latin America, especially where there are currencies with high real rates such as Brazil, Mexico and Colombia."

Support for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government continued to rebound in August, according to a poll, marking a recovery from earlier lows this year.

Meanwhile, a Reuters poll showed that Mexico's headline inflation likely rebounded in the first half of August, strengthening expectations that the central bank might cut its key interest rate again.

In Europe, Ukraine's dollar bonds fell broadly by more than 1 cent on the dollar each, extending earlier declines as uncertainty over the end of Russia's war in Ukraine persisted.

Trump offered security guarantees to Kyiv on Monday during a U.S.-Ukraine-Europe summit, though details remained unclear. On Tuesday, he said the U.S. might provide air support as part of a deal.

Ukraine's bonds initially rallied following the announcement of a U.S.-Russia meeting, but gains faded as optimism over progress toward peace diminished.

Emerging market assets have advanced this month, driven by concerns over U.S. economic health, which have led markets to anticipate an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve in September.

MSCI's gauge tracking Latam currencies .MILA00000CUS has gained about 2.3% this month, edging up 0.1% on Wednesday, while a similar gauge of regional equities .MILA00000PUS rose 0.2%.

Regional stock indexes were mixed, with Colombia's .COLCAP up 0.1%, Brazil's .BVSP remaining flat, and Argentina's .MERV and Mexico's .MXX down 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively.

Elsewhere, Bolivia's dollar bonds stabilized following a two-day rally after early official results pointed to the ruling socialist party's worst electoral defeat in a generation.

Separately, Reuters reported that presidential candidate Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga said he would dole out ownership stakes in natural resources such as lithium if elected in October and expressed willingness to improve ties with the United States.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies: