EMERGING MARKETS-Brazilian real rises as central bank drops 'forward guidance'

* Copom move more hawkish than thought -analyst * Brazilian real outperforms Latam peers * Chilean peso rises for second session * MSCI's EM stocks index hits record high By Shreyashi Sanyal Jan 21 (Reuters) - The Brazilian real strengthened on Thursday as bets grew for a more hawkish stance by the country's central bank after it removed its "forward guidance" to keep interest rates low for a long time. The real firmed 1% against the dollar, a day after the central bank kept rates steady at a record-low 2.00%. while the withdrawal of its guidance was seen by investors as showing the bank was becoming more data-dependent. Copom, the bank's rate-setting committee, said its decision was unanimous and uncertainties about economic growth continued to justify the current monetary stimulus. But it emphasized that this does not mean it will raise rates automatically. Mauricio Une, senior strategist at Rabobank, said the removal of forward guidance was more hawkish than expected, "the Copom dropped the forward guidance - their pledge to keep low rates for longer - earlier than some market participants had expected". The Chilean peso rose 0.6%, extending gains for a second day as the dollar weakened and copper prices rose. However, concerns remained that demand growth for copper in top consumer China had for now reached a plateau. Mexico's peso traded in a tight range, with data showing the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate slipping to 4.4% in December. The currency has so far shown resilience to bouts of risk aversion. Sentiment across global risk markets were lifted as investors bet on more fiscal stimulus from new U.S. President Joe Biden, with a gauge from emerging market stocks hitting a record. An ultra-low interest rate environment, the rollout of coronavirus vaccines, along with signs of improving economic data, have helped boost investor confidence in emerging market risk assets. However, a rise in U.S. Treasury yields has pressured currencies and bonds in emerging markets. The MSCI's index for Latin American stocks rose 0.9%, with Sao Paulo stocks leading the advance. Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional jumped 4% after a report said it plans to raise $1 billion by selling a stake in its unit CSN Mineracao with a target value of between 47.5 billion and 63 billion reais ($11.91 billion) in an IPO to be launched by Friday. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1351 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1409.83 0.63 MSCI LatAm 2488.21 0.85 Brazil Bovespa 120126.25 0.4 Mexico IPC 0.00 0 Chile IPSA 4660.94 0.5 Argentina MerVal 0.00 0 Colombia COLCAP 1459.85 0 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.2609 0.92 Mexico peso 19.6015 -0.07 Chile peso 711.9 1.40 Colombia peso 3456.56 0.24 Peru sol 3.6097 0.14 Argentina peso (interbank) 86.4300 -0.09 Argentina peso (parallel) 152 3.29 (Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru Editing by Mark Heinrich)