EMERGING MARKETS-Chile assets sidestep broader losses on moderate Cabinet pick

* Chile's peso, stocks buck global rout * Brazil's real slips; Lula seen leading in polls * Russian assets rise after high-level Moscow-Washington talks (Adds details, updates prices) By Susan Mathew and Ambar Warrick Jan 21 (Reuters) - Chilean markets rallied on Friday as newly elected President Gabriel Boric picked a seemingly moderate head for the finance ministry, while Brazil's real fell as presidential election polls showed leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva leading. Chile's peso rose 0.6% to hit over two-month highs and moving below the 800-a-dollar mark, while stocks jumped 3.5%, bucking a global sell-off and reaching a two-month high. The peso also outpaced its regional peers this week with a 2.6% gain. Boric named central bank head Mario Marcel as the finance minister, while other picks for his first cabinet were also seen as moderate, reassuring investors that no major policy changes were in store. "We believe that Mario Marcel's appointment as future minister of finance is definitely good news, as Marcel is someone with a high credibility who has supported the two pillars of Chile's macroeconomic framework: the independence of the central bank, and the structural fiscal rule," said strategists at Citigroup. Chile's dollar bonds ticked up with the October 2042 bond moving away from their lowest since April 2020. Chile's peso is seen ending over 2% higher for the week in its fourth straight week in the black. Political news was in focus in Brazil as well. While neither men has formally declared his candidacy, former Lula was leading in polls over his far-right rival, President Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil's real fell up to 1% before retracing losses, with Friday also being the deadline for Bolsonaro to pass the 2022 budget. Lula drew praise from some investors as he again suggested he could name moderate Geraldo Alckmin as his running mate, but analysts say his return could worsen Brazil's budget deficit. Brazil's weakened economy is in danger of sinking deeper into recession this year as anxiety over elections and as steep interest rate rises - by 725 basis points last year - continue to hurt growth, a Reuters poll showed. Brazil stocks fell 0.2%, while Mexican stocks sank 1.9%, the most among their Latin American peers, as broader stock markets were slammed by concerns over tightening monetary policy in the developed world. Elsewhere, Russia's rouble pulled away from 77 versus the dollar, stocks pared some losses and dollar bonds extended gains following high-level talks between Moscow and Washington to discuss soaring tensions over Ukraine. The talks were described as frank and useful by Washington. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies: Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1244.90 -0.86 MSCI LatAm 2227.89 -0.95 Brazil Bovespa 108866.06 -0.22 Mexico IPC 51499.93 -1.92 Chile IPSA 4643.34 3.49 Argentina MerVal 83784.45 -1.576 Colombia COLCAP 1529.93 -1.13 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.4570 -0.75 Mexico peso 20.4490 0.39 Chile peso 797.42 0.57 Colombia peso 3952.44 0.47 Peru sol 3.831 -0.15 Argentina peso 104.3400 -0.02 (interbank) (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Marguerita Choy)