Stocks rise, FX flat as investors await Powell's speech
Updated at 0900 GMT
China consumer, EV stocks down
Polish retail sales grow below forecast
Polish, Mexican central bank policy meet minutes eyed
By Shubham Batra
Aug 22 (Reuters) -Emerging market stocks regained some ground on Thursday, while currencies were largely subdued as investors awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday.
MSCI's emerging market equities index .MSCIEF edged 0.2% higher. The symposium of global central bankers starts later in the day and markets are hoping Powell's speech will offer further insights into the central bank's interest rate path.
China's Tencent Holdings 0700.HK, which has the second-highest weighting on the index, rose about 1.7%, but gains were capped by weakness in Chinese consumer and electric vehicle stocks amid simmering trade tensions.
Most Chinese EV makers .CSI399976 fell as Brussels published its revised tariff plan for China-made EVs, potentially making the provisional penalties definitive. An index tracking EVs .CSI930997 fell 0.7%.
Indian stocks .NSEI also added some positivity.
An index of emerging market currencies .MIEM00000CUS was largely flat against the U.S. dollar, which hovered near 2024 lows after minutes of the Fed's last policy meeting signalled a likely rate cut in September.
"The price action across the EM FX space on the day indicates that market participants are in a wait-and-see mode ahead of tomorrow's speech by Chair Powell in Jackson Hole," said Piotr Matys, senior FX Analyst at In Touch Capital Markets.
"The key question is whether Powell shifts in the odds in favour of a 25bps or a 50bps cut at the September meeting. Given that it will be an excellent opportunity for him to regain control over the narrative, Powell may push against what the markets are currently pricing in for the scale of rate cuts over the next 6-12 months."
The South African rand ZAR= was down 0.3% against the greenback, while the lira TRYTOM=D4 slipped and was last quoted at 33.95. Consumer confidence in Turkey rose to 79.6 points in August from 75.9 in July.
In central and eastern Europe, Polish zloty EURPLN= edged 0.1% lower against the euro after domestic retail sales in constant prices for July grew 4.4% on a yearly basis compared with expectations of a 5.6% growth.
Investors will also keep a close eye on the Polish central bank at 1200 GMT, when they publish the minutes from the last rate-setting meeting.
The Hungarian forint EURHUF= was also down 0.1%.
The Mexican peso MXN= was flat against the dollar ahead of the the minutes of its central bank's latest monetary policy meeting, due at 1500 GMT.
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
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 Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K
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