EMERGING MARKETS-Latam markets slip in holiday-thinned trade; India's rupee logs best day in 12 years

By Pranav Kashyap

April 2 (Reuters) - Most Latin American assets retreated broadly on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump dashed hopes for greater clarity on how long the Middle East conflict might endure, reviving investor unease across emerging markets.

India's rupee INR=IN, however, stood out as a rare bright spot, closing near a two-week high and recording its strongest daily gain since September 2013 after the central bank moved decisively to curb speculative bets against the currency.

The Reserve Bank of India barred banks from offering rupee non-deliverable forwards to both resident and non-resident clients, while also ruling that companies would no longer be allowed to rebook cancelled forward contracts. The measures came on the heels of tighter restrictions on banks' foreign-exchange positions in the onshore market.

Stocks in Mumbai .BSESN sharply reversed earlier losses to end the session 0.2% higher.

Elsewhere, a gauge tracking Latin American equities .MILA00000PUS fell 1.1%. Even so, the index remained on course for its strongest weekly performance since mid-January. A similar gauge for regional currencies slipped xx%, though it too was still heading for its best week since mid-January.

Markets in Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Peru and Colombia closed for a local holiday, leaving volumes thin.

In a potentially significant development, the United States on Wednesday lifted sanctions against Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez, a move that could pave the way for renewed foreign capital inflows through sanctions waivers. The Caracas benchmark stock index .IBC was up more than 200% year-to-date,

Meanwhile, stocks in Sao Paulo .BVSP slipped 0.7%. Data showed, industrial production rose 0.9%, more-than-expected in February.

Turkish equities edged modestly higher .XU100 as investors absorbed news of a nearly 120-tonne decline in the central bank's gold reserves over the past two weeks, reflecting efforts by authorities to cushion markets from the fallout of the Iran war.

In a prime-time address, Trump said the U.S. would strike Iran "extremely hard" within weeks - a marked departure from the earlier tone struck by both him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

That rhetorical shift left investors once again mired in uncertainty over how - and when - the conflict might reach its conclusion. Equity markets across the emerging world, which had rallied strongly in the previous session, swiftly reversed course.

"Despite attempts to frame the situation as manageable and short-lived, the tone of the speech was more consistent with a war rally, reinforcing the likelihood of further escalation rather than resolution," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst, Capital.com.