EMERGING MARKETS-Colombian stocks, peso weigh on Latam assets

* Colombia's peso extends losses after c.bank hike on Friday * Chile unemployment rate hits 7.9% in quarter through December * Latam stocks, currencies index flat * EM stocks index lags, down 0.7% By Bansari Mayur Kamdar Jan 30 (Reuters) - Colombian stocks and the peso extended losses on Monday after the country's smaller-than-expected rate hike last week, while a rout in Adani Group companies after a short-seller attack weighed on the broader emerging markets. The MSCI's index for Latam stocks was subdued alongside a 0.7% slide in the broader EM index . "It's a combination of some profit taking after very strong outperformance (in EM) since the start of the year and ahead of the Fed meeting later this week," said Michael Wang, deputy portfolio manager at Mirabaud Asset Management. Weighing on broader emerging market equities, most Adani Group shares extended sharp losses after the Indian conglomerate's rebuttal of a U.S. short-seller's criticism failed to pacify investors. "We saw the EM markets rally over the past month and the scandal in Adani raises the question that were these valuations a bit exaggerated or not," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. The currencies index in Latin America was also flat, with the Colombian peso down 1.6% against the dollar. The peso also fell 0.5% on Friday after Colombia's central bank board raised the benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to 12.75%, a softer increase than expected by a majority of analysts as the board continues to grapple with high inflation. Colombian stocks slipped 0.4%. Currencies of copper producers Chile and Peru fell 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively, as worries about the outlook for copper demand in top consumer China dominated sentiment ahead of key data from the country's manufacturing sector. Chile's unemployment rate hit 7.9% in the October-December period, government statistics agency INE said, matching economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll and unchanged from the quarter through November. The Brazilian real eked slim gains in early trading, while Mexico's peso was flat. Brazil's government debt as a share of gross domestic product ended 2022 at its lowest level in more than five years, central bank data showed, helped by nominal economic growth and net public debt redemptions. Elsewhere, Nigeria's government bonds fell heavily after ratings agency Moody's downgraded the West African oil producer late on Friday to Caa1 from B3, saying the government's fiscal and debt position was expected to keep deteriorating. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1044.32 -0.65 MSCI LatAm 2326.28 0.08 Brazil Bovespa 112116.48 -0.18 Mexico IPC 54588.44 -0.34 Chile IPSA 5356.81 0.1 Argentina MerVal 251769.53 -0.993 Colombia COLCAP 1281.52 -0.34 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.0864 0.50 Mexico peso 18.7711 -0.06 Chile peso 810 -0.57 Colombia peso 4620.75 -1.51 Peru sol 3.8334 -0.38 Argentina peso (interbank) 186.5600 -0.50 Argentina peso (parallel) 383 0.78 (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Macfie)