Feb 19 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian

markets.

Two interest rate decisions and Chinese house prices top the

Asia-Pacific calendar on Wednesday, with markets still pretty

buoyant even as investors navigate the increasingly powerful

crosscurrents of global trade and geopolitical uncertainty.

Wall Street's big three indices were little-changed on

Tuesday but the S&P 500 eked out a new closing high, as did the

MSCI World index.

Markets are in a holding pattern, taking a 'wait and see'

approach to tariffs and potential Russia-Ukraine truce. When it

comes to U.S. monetary policy, the Federal Reserve is adopting a

similar stance too.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Wednesday is expected to lop

another 50 basis points off borrowing costs to counter slowing

growth, while Bank Indonesia is set to hold rates to shore up

the weak exchange rate, according to Reuters polls.

These decisions come a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia

cut rates for the first time in four years but warned it was too

early to declare victory over inflation and signaled caution

over the prospects of further easing.

Like all their G10 FX peers, the Australian and New Zealand

dollars have risen against the U.S. dollar this year although

the 'kiwi' has cooled a bit this week ahead of the RBNZ

decision. Indonesia's rupiah is flat this year, making it one of

the worst performers among key emerging currencies.

Despite the uncertainty around U.S. President Donald Trump's

tariffs and protectionist trade agenda, emerging market

sentiment remains upbeat. Investors seem willing to stay in

riskier assets, which have been winning trades so far this year,

for longer than had perhaps been expected.

Emerging market debt and Chinese equities are two areas have

performed well this year, and attracted huge inflows in January,

Institute of International Finance figures showed on Tuesday.

Optimism on Chinese stocks, especially tech, is spreading as

investors bet that the emergence of AI startup DeepSeek and

President Xi Jinping's meeting with the country's tech

entrepreneurs mark a bright, new dawn for the sector.

Hedge funds are pouring money in, and global investment

banks are upgrading their outlooks. The danger is bullish

sentiment and positions get too stretched, but the market

doesn't appear to be at that stage yet.

Still, tense U.S.-Sino relations and escalating global trade

tensions cannot be ignored, and on Tuesday China condemned

Washington at the World Trade Organization, warning that its

tariffs could upend world trade and risk global recession.

Meanwhile, the rise in Japanese Government Bond yields shows

no sign of slowing, as markets bet on the Bank of Japan raising

rates again this year. Yields are the highest since 2008, and

have now risen 13 out of the last 14 trading sessions.

Here are key developments that could provide more direction

to Asian markets on Wednesday:

- New Zealand, Indonesia rate decisions

- China house prices (January)

- HSBC earnings (full-year 2024)