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Fitch raises Turkey's rating on tighter monetary policies

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Flexible currency possible with new financing- Egypt's

Sisi

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Czech inflation back on target for first time since 2018

By Ankika Biswas

March 11 (Reuters) - Emerging market stocks and

currencies edged up on Monday, with investors bracing for a U.S.

inflation print for the world's most influential central bank's

policy outlook, while Egyptian stocks scaled record highs on

continued financing cheer.

The MSCI index for emerging market stocks climbed

0.3% after touching a seven-month high on Friday, while the

gauge of EM currencies rose 0.2% to a two-month

high.

Investors will monitor U.S. consumer inflation on Tuesday

ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision next week.

Egypt's benchmark stock index gained 3% to a record

high, while the Egyptian pound was at 49-per-dollar after

last week's slide to all-time low.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the United Arab Emirates

and the International Monetary Fund's new financing could see

the country move to a flexible exchange rate, while Egypt's

finance minister said the country will receive $3 billion in

funding from the World Bank, part of an IMF funding package.

On the data front, annual urban consumer price inflation

jumped to 35.7% in February from 29.8% in January, driven mainly

by higher food and beverage prices.

China saw consumer prices rise for the first time in six

months, lifting China's blue-chip CSI300, the Shanghai

Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Indexes

between 0.7% and 1.3%.

Fitch upgraded Turkey's rating to "B+" from "B", saying

tighter monetary policy approaches were helping combat

inflationary trends, with Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek noting

that its government will continue to tighten fiscal policy to

help reduce price pressures.

"The shift towards higher rates to bring down inflation is

certainly encouraging, but we've not necessarily seen that

reflect in the lira... there's a lot of other issues with

economy and the currency aside from just interest rates," said

Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial

services firm Ebury.

The lira hit a record low of 32.0075 per dollar,

although Turkish stocks advanced 1.2%.

Data showed Czech inflation eased to annual 2% in February,

hitting the central bank's target for the first time in more

than five years and keeping the path clear for interest rates to

drop. The crown was largely flat against the euro.

The zloty hit a four-year high, continuing a rally

as Polish interest rates stay stable while falling elsewhere in

central Europe and as the EU unlocks funds that had been caught

up in long-running disputes.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Turkey's Erdogan says March election will be his final,

state media reports

** S&P cuts Ukraine rating deeper into junk

** China Vanke shares climbs on Reuters report regulators

asking banks to step up support