Most EM currencies ease at start of busy week
Rate decisions in Indonesia, Turkey and Chile later this week
Moody's upgrades Ghana's credit rating to "Caa2"
By Shashwat Chauhan
Oct 14 (Reuters) -Most emerging market currencies eased on Monday as investors awaited major risk events, including a European Central Bank rate decision later this week, while markets took stock of China's weekend stimulus announcements.
China pledged on Saturday to "significantly increase" debt to revive its sputtering economy, but left investors guessing on the overall size of the stimulus package.
"There is no uniform interpretation of what would have constituted an upside or downside surprise," Geoff Yu, EMEA macro strategist at BNY, said.
"Besides, we believe the macro impact is only relevant for this calendar or lunar year to ensure that the growth target is achieved."
China's yuan CNH= slipped 0.3% against the U.S. dollar in offshore trading, while stocks .SSEC, .CSI300 closed about 2% higher.
Most currencies in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) were stable against the euro ahead of the ECB's rate decision on Thursday, with consensus tilted towards the cenbankdelivering a 25-basis-points cut.
South Africa's rand ZAR=D3 weakened 0.3% against the greenback with few major domestic data points this week, while local equities .JTOPI added 0.2%. ZAR/
The rand tends to take cues from global drivers in the absence of major local factors.
Ratings agency Moody's upgraded Ghana's long-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings to "Caa2" from "Caa3" and "Ca" respectively, citing extensive debt treatment that has significantly alleviated the government's financial burdens.
The agency also revised the West African country's outlook to "positive" from "stable".
Ghana's cedi GHS= shed 0.1% against the dollar, while its greenback-denominated bonds were largely muted.
MSCI's index for emerging market (EM) stocks .MSCIEF held firm at 1160.14 points after logging weekly losses on Friday, while the broader currencies index .MIEM00000CUS was flat as of 0815 GMT.
Most EM assets ex-China saw tepid moves last week as a brimming geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the continuous repricing of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate path led to nervy trading.
A plethora of interest rate decisions across EM nations, including Indonesia, Turkey and Chile, would be on the radar later this week.
Emerging markets-focused investor Ashmore Group ASHM.L reported higher first-quarter assets under management, driven by positive investment performance of $3.2 billion and improved client risk appetite.
A market holiday in Japan led to low liquidity in Asia trading.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Romania's budget gap and wage growth fuel inflation, S&P says
** India's wholesale prices rise 1.84% in September
** Turkey should continue tight, monetary policy until inflation at target, IMF says
** Maldives picks Centerview as debt adviser amid financing crunch
For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2024 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2024 https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX
Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy
For TOP NEWS across emerging markets nTOPEMRG
For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see CEE/
For TURKISH market report, see .IS
For RUSSIAN market report, see RU/RUB
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