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EM stocks up 0.24% on day, FX flat

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Indian IT stocks fall on US visa concerns

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Rate decision in Hungary, Czech Republic later this week

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Indonesian rupiah hits five-month low

By Nikhil Sharma

(Reuters) - Emerging market stocks edged higher on

Monday and currencies flattened ahead of the week's crucial

central bank meetings, while Indian IT stocks fell following the

U.S. decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa

applications.

Indian information technology stocks tanked 3% -

set for their worst day since April 4 - weighing on the

benchmark BSE Sensex that shed 0.4%.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on Friday a $100,000 fee on

new H-1B visa applications, a big blow to the technology sector

that relies heavily on skilled workers from India and China.

"We still believe that there is a possibility of an amicable

solution to the trade war initiated by the U.S. on account of

global political compulsions and economic rationale," said G

Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics

Research.

Meanwhile, an index tracking emerging market equities

edged up 0.24% after rising over 1% in the previous

week.

A similar gauge for currencies was little

changed, with a steady dollar keeping its moves restricted. The

index added 0.1% last week.

In Central and Eastern Europe, the Hungarian forint

was up 0.22% as investors positioned themselves for

the country's interest rate decision later on Tuesday.

With inflation breaching the tolerance band and looming

inflation risks in 2026, the central bank is widely expected to

leave its base rate at the European Union's joint-highest level

of 6.5%, marking a year-long period of unchanged rates. The

country's main equity index dropped 0.72% on Monday.

The Czech National Bank is also expected to deliver a "hold"

verdict on Wednesday, potentially extending its pause to a third

meeting on inflation risks associated with wages and services.

Czech crown was flat, while stocks in Prague

fell 0.2%.

Polish stocks declined 0.7% and the zloty

remained flat. The moves follow credit ratings agency Moody's

decision on Friday to lower Poland's outlook to "negative" from

"stable" amid rising spending pressure and political gridlock.

Elsewhere, Chinese stocks moved 0.2% higher as

investors digested positive signals from U.S.-China talks after

Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping made progress on

a TikTok agreement.

The country kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the

fourth consecutive month in September, in line with market

expectations, following the central bank's decision to hold a

main policy rate steady last week.

In Indonesia, the rupiah continued its decline,

slipping 0.1% to a near five-month low under the central bank's

oversight. Central bank Governor Perry Warjiyo said that the

bank would maintain its market interventions to stabilize it.

Ukraine's dollar bonds sold off as armed conflict with

Moscow showed no signs of easing. The growth-linked 2035 and

2036 notes fell more than 1 cent to the dollar, each, to at

their lowest since early August.

For TOP NEWS across emerging markets

For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see

For TURKISH market report, see

For RUSSIAN market report, see

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru)