(Updated at 0900 GMT)

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Thai baht hits highest since January

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Israel Q2 GDP misses estimates

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Absa Group shares jump after results

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EM stocks rise 0.7%

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal

Aug 19 (Reuters) - Emerging market currencies gained

against a softer dollar on Monday, lifting MSCI's index tracking

them to a record high on growing hopes of stable economic growth

and looser monetary policy in the United States.

The dollar weakened 0.3% against a basket of

currencies, lifting MSCI's international emerging market

currency index 0.6% to a record high at the

start of a week packed with central bank events.

Asian currencies led gains, notably the Korean won,

Malaysian ringgit and Thai baht. The baht and

Thai stocks were also lifted by better-than-expected gross

domestic product data.

Emerging market assets looked set to build on gains from the

previous week as data pointing to U.S. economic growth soothed

worries about slowing global demand.

Focus will now be on U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Friday

speech in Jackson Hole, where investors anticipate he will

acknowledge the case for easing borrowing costs.

"Unless we hear Powell hint that the Fed are not ready to

ease, or that the tone is skewed towards a 50 bps cut, then what

we hear should marry almost perfectly to market pricing," Chris

Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said.

An index of emerging market stocks gained 0.7%

after rising nearly 3% in the previous week.

A number of emerging market central banks will also meet

this week, with interest rate decisions expected in Indonesia,

Thailand, South Korea and Turkey.

Chinese policymakers are also seen keeping key loan prime

rates unchanged on Tuesday.

South Africa's rand built on a nine-day winning

streak, and was up 0.4% ahead of inflation data due on

Wednesday.

The country's main stock index continued to cruise

at record highs and was up 0.9%, led by a nearly 5% rise in

shares of lender Absa Group after the company reported

results.

The Russian rouble steadied against the dollar,

edging 0.1% higher, but still remains down more than 4% since

Ukraine launched its ongoing attack in the Kursk region.

Currencies in central Europe were mixed against the euro

as it rose against the dollar. The euro rose 0.2% versus

the Polish zloty and was flat against the Czech crown

.

Israel's shekel weakened 1.4% against the dollar

after four straight sessions of gains, after data on Sunday

showed the economy grew 1.2% in the second quarter of 2024, less

than the 4.4% forecast in a Reuters poll.

Polish stocks slipped 0.1%, after the main index

notched its best week in four years on Friday.

Local markets in Hungary were closed for a holiday.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** China manages to halt bond bulls in their tracks, for now

** GRAPHIC-Take Five: How deep a cut?

** Philippines, China trade blame after vessels collide in

the South China Sea

For TOP NEWS across emerging markets

For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see

For TURKISH market report, see

For RUSSIAN market report, see