* EM stocks rise 0.98%, currencies gain 0.08%

* Stock benchmarks in South Korea, Taiwan climb

* US CPI data due later in the day

By Niket Nishant

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Emerging market stocks resumed their

ascent after robust tech earnings reinforced AI optimism, while

investors prepared to zero in on U.S. inflation due later on

Wednesday.

The MSCI index of EM stocks rose 0.98%. Tech-heavy

equity benchmarks in South Korea and Taiwan

climbed 3.68% and 0.88%, respectively.

AI cloud company CoreWeave ( CRWV ) lifted its target for

2026 revenue on Tuesday, while bets on strong demand for Super

Micro Computer's ( SMCI ) AI-optimised servers helped the

companyforecast fiscal 2027 revenue above expectations.

Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract

electronics maker, also beat analyst forecasts for

second-quarter profit on Wednesday, on robust demand for AI.

These signals reassured investors, who have been quick to

dismiss fears about excessive exuberance in AI stocks whenever

earnings have shown demand still has room to run.

"Even if there are 20%, 30% or 40% swings in a day, I'm all

in on the sector because there's going to be insatiable demand

over the coming years," said Phillip Lord, CEO of Bitcoin Japan

, an AI and crypto-focused investment firm.

A stalemate in Middle East peace talksstill dampened the

mood in global markets as investors weigh the potential

inflationary impact of higher oil prices.

Brent crude rose for a seventh consecutive session

on Wednesday, the longest streak of gains since April.

That's "proving a roadblock in the way of a U.S. stock

market that could otherwise be flirting with fresh all-time

highs," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at

Capital.com.

US CPI IN FOCUS

The Indian rupee was little changed as dollar sales

from foreign banks did little to ease lingering oil price

anxiety. China's yuan hovered near a 3-1/2-year high

against the dollar on stronger official guidance.

The MSCI index of EM currencies ekedout

0.08% of gains.

Romanian equities rose 0.80% after consumer price

inflation fell to 8.16% in July, lower than the 10.42% reported

in the previous month, but still above expectations.

Markets will need to clear a fresh hurdle when the U.S.

inflation print for July is released later in the day.

A weak jobs report last week lowered the odds of a September

rate hike by the Federal Reserve, butanalysts say inflation data

is more crucial.

"The (jobs) report didn't change the overall picture on the

labour market. And more importantly, the Fed's reaction function

is heavily skewed towards the inflation data," BofA Global

strategists wrote.

MSCI is also set to announce the results of a quarterly

rebalance of its indexes later in the day.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru)