EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico's Televisa rockets on merger plan; Latam currencies strengthen

* Televisa soars over 30%, set for best day in two decades * Mexican shares jump 1.6%, peso hits two-month high * Brazil's Senate launches probe into COVID-19 outbreak (Updates prices) By Susan Mathew April 14 (Reuters) - Mexican shares led a rally on Latin American stock exchanges on Wednesday as broadcaster Grupo Televisa surged more than 20% on its plans to merge with U.S. company Univision, creating a Spanish-language challenge to streaming giant Netflix Inc Latin American currencies, meanwhile, followed broader emerging market peers into the black as the dollar slipped on falling U.S. Treasury yields. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks at the Economic Club of Washington that it was highly unlikely the U.S. central bank would raise interest rates before the end of 2022. A surge in oil prices, which were boosted by signs of increasing crude demand, also lifted Latam currencies, with crude exporter Colombia's peso rising for the first time in four sessions. TELEVISA BLOCKBUSTER Shares of Televisa jumped up to 33%, hitting their highest level in more than two years, before giving up some of the gains. They were last up 23%, on track for their best day in more than two decades. The move pushed Mexico's IPC index 1.6% higher. The index hit more than a two-year high during the session. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador hailed Televisa's plans and said the operation would yield several billion pesos in taxes. Mexico's peso touched a two-month high before falling to trade flat. Brazil's real rose 0.8%, erasing early losses of up to 0.3%. The Brazilian Senate on Tuesday launched a probe into the handling of one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks, adding to the pressure on right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. The Americas are not behaving like a region experiencing an ever-graver outbreak of COVID-19, the director of the Pan American Health Organization warned on Wednesday. Markets are keeping a keen eye out for any coronavirus-related curbs to economic activity, said Andres Cuartas, manager of international fixed income at Renta4Global in Bogota, adding that moves on Wall Street are also on the radar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed other major U.S. indexes on Wednesday, lifted by upbeat earnings reports from big banks such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. Brazil's Bovespa stock index was up 0.8% on the back of gains in energy and commodity-linked stocks. Iron ore miner Vale and state oil form Petrobras were up 3.3% and 1.2%, respectively. Chile's peso gave up gains of up to 0.6% during the session to trade 0.2% lower, while Peru's sol dipped. Ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday said it expects higher social spending in Peru after the pandemic no matter who wins the June 6 presidential runoff election. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1922 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1336.38 0.94 MSCI LatAm 2368.30 1.47 Brazil Bovespa 120244.57 0.79 Mexico IPC 48262.07 1.6 Chile IPSA 4905.17 0.07 Argentina MerVal 47417.56 -0.548 Colombia COLCAP 1317.73 0.39 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.6740 0.76 Mexico peso 20.0740 0.05 Chile peso 709 -0.21 Colombia peso 3655.3 0.32 Peru sol 3.6308 -0.08 Argentina peso 92.6700 -0.04 (interbank) (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru and Nelson Bocanegra in Bogota;)