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IMF agrees deal to give Ukraine access to $1.1 bln
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Romanian inflation eases to 5.1% in August
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Minutes from Hungary central bank’s Aug meeting on tap
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Stocks off 0.3%, FX indexes flat
By Johann M Cherian
Sept 11 – Most emerging market assets were subdued on Wednesday in cautious trade ahead of a U.S. inflation report, while investors also focused on a dollar bond issue in Nigeria and a pivotal legislative vote on judicial reforms in Mexico.
MSCI’s index tracking emerging market currencies inched up 0.1%, against the dollar index’s 0.2% dip, while an index tracking equities slipped 0.3% to it lowest in over a month.
Focus will be on U.S. inflation data for August later in the day before the Federal Reserve meets next week to decide on monetary policy, with expectations high for a 25 basis points rate cut.
Economic growth worries out of the U.S. and China have weighed on investor sentiment recently, with the main MSCI EM stocks index on track for its first monthly drop of over 3% since January, if losses hold.
Meanwhile, after Tuesday’s fiery U.S presidential debate, betting platforms swung in favour of Democrat candidate Kamala Harris over Republican Donald Trump. The former president’s polices are seen as inflationary and an obstacle to global free trade.
“For now, indications that Harris won this debate, even if by a small margin, can keep a lid on the dollar and generally prompt a more favourable environment for currencies with a high beta to protectionism and geopolitical issues,” analysts at ING bank said.
In Africa, Nigeria raised $900 million in its first ever domestic dollar bond sale, according to the issue’s coordinator.
Nigeria’s naira slipped 0.8% relative to the euro, while the yield on dollar bonds maturing in 2029 climbed 13 basis points.
In Latin America, oil exporter Mexico’s peso strengthened 0.7% after a more than 1% drop in the previous session on weak crude prices.
The country’s Senate gave general approval to a judicial reform where judges would be elected by popular vote, which critics fear could threaten the rule of law and damage the economy.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s hryvnia was flat. The International Monetary Fund said it had reached a preliminary agreement that would give the war-torn country access to about $1.1 billion in financial assistance.
In central and eastern Europe, Romania’s leu was muted against the euro after data showed inflation cooled to 5.1% in August from the previous month.
Hungary’s forint ticked up 0.1% ahead of the release of minutes from the central bank’s August monetary policy meeting, due at 1300 GMT.
In South Asia, the yield on Sri Lankan bonds maturing in 2025 slid 360 basis points, easing from a recent jump as a nationwide election nears.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.