Stocks, currencies steady with trade deals, Ukraine-Russia talks in spotlight
Emerging market assets were broadly steady on Thursday, following a rally earlier in the week, while investors keenly awaited peace talks between Russia and Ukraine scheduled to take place in Istanbul.
The MSCI's gauge for emerging markets stocks was muted, pausing after a 3% rise earlier in the week that was primarily aided by signs of de-escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and its trade partners such as China and the UK.
The currencies index was flat against the greenback as traders looked for signs of new trade deals.
The South Korean won firmed 0.8%, outperforming regional peers for the second-straight day after the country said it discussed the currency market with the U.S. last week.
The won's moves brought back to memory the Taiwanese dollar's unprecedented advances last week, but the Korean currency's gain was tempered by a report that said Washington was not seeking dollar depreciation as part of trade negotiations.
Potential trade deals with Japan, India and other Southeast Asian economies were also in focus.
"As we go into the bilateral trade deals, they will try and strike unique deals with every country, but there could be ingredients which are similar across the different countries such as reducing trans-shipments and strengthening rules of origin," said Lavanya Venkateswaran, senior economist at OCBC Bank.
Geopolitics took centre stage in Turkey, where delegations from Ukraine and Russia were expected to meet for peace talks to end a three-year-old war, following pressure from Washington to end the conflict.
Kyiv's dollar bonds maturing in 2034 and 2036 slipped about one cent on the dollar after it was clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in person.
The rouble was flat, but has gained about 32% so far this year, despite weak prices of crude oil - a top export commodity - as investors priced in the likelihood of an imminent end to the conflict.
Venkateswaran said that the initial impact of a deal is going to largely be felt through commodity prices, and ultimately it will depend on the commitment from each side to understand and resolve this dispute.
International bonds of top crude exporters among developing economies slipped, as oil prices fell by about $2 on expectations of a potential U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that could result in sanctions easing.
Papers of Angola , Nigeria dropped about one cent on the dollar each.
U.S. President Donald Trump surprised markets on Wednesday and met with Syrian officials, with Washington announcing that they would lift sanctions on the country.
Trump is next expected to visit the United Arab Emirates next.
In central and eastern Europe, Romania's leu and international bonds were steady after data showed weaker-than-expected economic growth in previous quarter. Investors await a highly anticipated presidential election run-off on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Sri Lankan dollar bonds maturing in 2035 , 2036 and 2038 dropped more than one cent each. The island nation said it has restructured nearly $931 million in lines of credit and buyers' credit facility agreements with the Indian government.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
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