By Ankika Biswas

Oct 3 (Reuters) -Most emerging market assets dropped on Thursday as investors vigilant of Middle East tensions favoured safe-haven assets while awaiting further clues on the health of the U.S. economy, with Hong Kong shares easing after a blistering rally.

The safe-haven U.S. dollar =USD hit a multi-week high, driven by the worsening geopolitical situation and robust U.S. jobs market data, with the MSCI EM currencies index .MIEM00000CUS dropping 0.3% to a one-week low.

On the geopolitical front, Israel bombed Beirut and killed at least six people after its forces suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Investors also keenly awaited a slew of U.S. economic data scheduled for the rest of the week, including closely watched non-farm payrolls data on Friday, to determine the Federal Reserve's likely course of upcoming rate cuts.

The MSCI stocks gauge .MSCIEF dropped 1% and was set to give up Wednesday's strong gains as Hong Kong shares succumbed to profit booking after China's stimulus-fuelled rally.

The Hang Seng index .HSI dropped 1.5% after jumping 23% in a six-day winning streak. Chinese markets were closed for public holidays.

Among economic data, an S&P Global survey showed South Africa's private sector saw an uptick in growth in September.

The rand ZAR= recouped earlier losses to strengthen 0.3% against the dollar, while the main stock index .JTOPI dropped more than 1% amid geopolitical concerns.

Turkish annual consumer price inflation dropped to 49.38% in September, falling below the central bank's policy rate for the first time since 2021 but exceeding expectations.

"The smaller-than-expected decline in the headline rate will be a disappointment to policymakers," said Nicholas Farr, emerging Europe economist at Capital Economics.

The data "supports our view that a monetary easing cycle is unlikely to start until 2025 – later than most other analysts have been forecasting," he said.

Turkey's central bank has held its benchmark rate steady at 50% for a sixth straight month, after having hiked by 4,150 basis points since June last year.

A Reuters poll showed the Czech crown EURCZK= is the only central European currency set for steady gains against the euro in 2025, with Hungary's forint EURHUF= and Poland's zloty EURPLN= likely to be stuck near current levels.

The crown hit a two-year low in August but has since rebounded. The forint is at 1-1/2-year lows at the psychological 400 per euro level.

The Russian rouble fell to its lowest level against China's yuan since Oct. 11, 2023 ahead of a Russian finance ministry announcement on next month's sales of foreign currency.

Meanwhile, a group of Ethiopia's international bondholders, known as the ad hoc committee, said it did not support the illustrative terms of a restructuring for the country's $1 billion bond presented in an investors' call earlier this week.

Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Jan Harvey

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