EMERGING MARKETS-Latam FX, stocks extend gains to third straight session

* Stocks, FX add more than 4% over past 3 sessions * Exaggerated FX moves may be sparse now- Analyst * Colombian stocks jump 25% in two days (Adds comment, updates prices) By Ambar Warrick and Susan Mathew March 26 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies extended gains to a third day on Thursday after record-high U.S. jobless claims and increased dollar liquidity saw the greenback retreat. The MSCI's index of Latin American currencies rose about 2%, adding nearly 4% over the past three days. Mexico's peso added 3%, while Brazil's real firmed slightly, as the flood of monetary and fiscal stimulus from the United States eased some funding concerns, keeping the dollar pressured. "Measures taken on both the fiscal and monetary front and signs of reducing USD funding squeeze suggest that global FX markets may be about to exit the period of profound, indiscriminative moves, where the USD appreciates abruptly," Petr Krpata, chief EMEA FX and IR Strategist at ING wrote in a note. "Still, currencies may fall further vs USD, but the fall may be more well-behaved from here." On Thursday, the greenback deepened losses after data showed U.S. weekly jobless claims shot up from 282,000 last week. The number came in above forecasts and showed how deeply the coronavirus pandemic had impacted the economy, forcing layoffs. The dollar's weakness this week has helped Latam currencies lift from all-time lows, following panicked exits from risk-heavy emerging markets due to the coronavirus outbreak bringing the global economy to its knees. Chile's peso and Colombia's peso both rose about 2%. The optimism helped investors look past Brazil's central bank slashing its 2020 economic growth forecast for the country to zero percent from 2.2%. Still, the rally appeared to be running out of steam, with curbs in movement and trade still in place as the outbreak gained traction in Latin America. STOCKS RALLY TOO The MSCI's index of Latin American stocks added about 4% for the day, tracking strength in Wall Street as the dismal unemployment claims data raised the prospect of further stimulus measures. The index gained for a third straight session, adding about 4.6% as it recovered from a 16-year low. Brazilian stocks added 2.6% for the day. Planemaker Embraer fell 4.6% after it reported a net loss for the fourth quarter of 2019. Colombia stocks surged 11%, building on Wednesday's 13% jump. Sao-Paulo listed shares jumped 2.4% while those in Santiago rose 2.9%. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1939 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 850.83 1.71 MSCI LatAm 1677.25 4.11 Brazil Bovespa 76819.17 2.49 Mexico IPC 36187.24 1.83 Chile IPSA 3213.59 2.9 Argentina MerVal 25953.06 -1.462 Colombia COLCAP 1158.73 10.76 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.0093 0.45 Mexico peso 23.1706 3.28 Chile peso 827.4 2.07 Colombia peso 3981 2.08 Peru sol 3.396 2.35 Argentina peso 64.2275 -0.28 (interbank) (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru Editing by Nick Zieminski and Marguerita Choy)