REFILE-EMERGING MARKETS-Argentine stocks retreat from record high; Latam assets fall on weak China data

(Refiles with Monday's record high) * Argentina's Milei visits US * Israel, Ghana hold key interest rates * Brazil education firm YDUQS jumps on JPM upgrade * Stocks down 0.6%, FX off 0.1% By Ankika Biswas Nov 27 (Reuters) - Argentina's stocks retreated from a record high on Monday as President-elect Javier Milei traveled to the United States, while other Latin American assets fell on weak data from China and ahead of a slew of regional and global economic readings. The S&P Merval stock index rose as much as 2% but was 3.5% lower by 1525 GMT (10:25 a.m. ET). It also rallied last week on hopes of more market friendly economic policies as libertarian Javier Milei won the presidential election. It has risen more than four-fold year-to-date, sharply outperforming other major Latam indexes. Last week, Milei said he had spoken with the director of the International Monetary Fund regarding plans to adjust the country's fiscal policy and monetary program. Separately, he invited Brazil's leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to his inauguration and praised ties between the countries. The MSCI index tracking Latam stocks fell 0.6%, while the currencies gauge slipped 0.1% ahead of PMI data from China and inflation prints out of the United States and Europe this week. Industrial profits in top metals consumer China extended gains in October at a slower pace, suggesting the need for more policy support and weighing on copper prices. Currencies of the metal's top producers Chile and Peru were down 0.3% and little changed, respectively. Brazil's real fell 0.2% against the dollar ahead of data on inflation, unemployment and the manufacturing PMI due this week. Mexico's peso slipped 0.2%, tracking a drop in oil prices as benchmark Brent crude dropped to near $80-a-barrel ahead of Thursday's delayed OPEC+ meeting. Colombia's peso outperformed in the region, rising more than 1% ahead of unemployment data due for release on Thursday. Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla on Friday said inflation is expected to close the year at around 9.73%. Twelve-month inflation through Oct. 30 stands at 10.48%. The MSCI stocks index remains on track for its biggest monthly gain since March 2022, while the currencies index is set for its strongest month in five. "November is coming to an end with a deluge of key data in Latam and an uncertain (delayed) OPEC decision ready to challenge a very strong month in markets that saw large gains in equity, rates, and currency markets driven by hopes that key central banks are done hiking—and may even begin cuts sooner," said Juan Manuel Herrera, senior economist at Scotiabank. Among single stocks, education company YDUQS jumped 8% to top Brazil's benchmark Bovespa following a JPMorgan upgrade to "overweight" from "neutral". On the policy front, Israel left short-term borrowing rates unchanged at 4.75% as expected to focus on maintaining financial stability, while Ghana held its main interest rate at 30% to tame inflation. The shekel and the cedi were up 0.5% and 0.4% against the U.S. dollar, respectively. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1525 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 978.25 -0.21 MSCI LatAm 2442.41 -0.56 Brazil Bovespa 125392.74 -0.1 Mexico IPC 52542.81 -0.75 Chile IPSA 5754.80 -0.38 Argentina MerVal 898313.20 -2.102 Colombia COLCAP 1130.44 -0.44 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.9080 -0.23 Mexico peso 17.1311 -0.19 Chile peso 874 -0.26 Colombia peso 3989.04 1.21 Peru sol 3.7176 0.08 Argentina peso (interbank) 359.0000 -0.39 Argentina peso (parallel) 980 1.53 (Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)