EMERGING MARKETS-Stocks snap 3-day recovery; Turkish lira flat ahead of rate decision

"Yet the persistent selloff in the lira and global risks to last year's deflationary trend could delay the Turkish central bank's rate cutting plans as well, even more so as the unofficial inflation data from ENAG points at a 124% year-over-year inflation, almost double the official data." A strong dollar and worries about U.S. rates staying elevated have pressured emerging market currencies in the last few days, with analysts now expecting a possible slowdown in easing cycles for some.

Emerging market stocks slid on Thursday after three days of gains, with weak earnings dragging the South Korean bourse despite strong economic data, while Turkey's lira was rangebound against the dollar.

Emerging market currencies were flat by 0835 GMT, with the Philippine peso touching its lowest since November 2022 against the dollar. The weakness in the peso is unlikely to trigger a central bank rate hike, Philippine Finance Minister Ralph Recto said according to Bloomberg report.

Investors were focused on the Turkish central bank's interest rate decision where it is expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 50%, a Reuters poll showed. The lira was nearly flat against the greenback.

"Consensus is now for a rate cut in Q4," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. "Yet the persistent selloff in the lira and global risks to last year's deflationary trend could delay the Turkish central bank's rate cutting plans as well, even more so as the unofficial inflation data from ENAG points at a 124% year-over-year inflation, almost double the official data."

A strong dollar and worries about U.S. rates staying elevated have pressured emerging market currencies in the last few days, with analysts now expecting a possible slowdown in easing cycles for some. Bank Indonesia announced a surprise rate 25 bps hike on Wednesday, while Hungary's central bank cut rates by 50 bps on Tuesday but added that there was "no need to rush" with further easing.

South Africa's rand gained 0.9% against a softer dollar ahead of key producer prices data. The MSCI index for emerging market stocks shed 0.5% as technology shares declined globally after Meta Platforms disappointed with its forecasts.

Weakness in heavyweight chip and battery makers such as SK Hynix and LG Energy Solution after their results dragged South Korea's KOSPI index down 1.8%. This overshadowed data which showed the country's economy grew at the fastest pace in more than two years in the first quarter, but the market questioned if the recovery was sustainable.

Also in focus, South Korea's financial market watchdog said it was checking the effectiveness of a new monitoring system designed to detect illegal short-selling of domestic stocks before lifting a ban on such trades. Stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong closed marginally higher on improving sentiment on Chinese shares, while Taiwan shares slid 1.4%.

HIGHLIGHTS: ** TSMC says 'A16' chipmaking tech to arrive in 2026, setting up showdown with Intel

** Malaysia's March CPI rises 1.8% on-year, slightly below forecast ** UAE economy grew 3.3% in first nine months of 2023

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)