* South Africa assets steady before anti-migrant protests

* Polish inflation slows to 2.5% y/y in June, below 2.7%

forecast

By Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi

June 30 (Reuters) - Emerging-market stocks rose on Tuesday,

heading for their strongest quarter since after the global

financial crisis, as investors piled into Asian tech shares on

hopes for the AI boom to fuel demand for chips and hardware.

The MSCI emerging-market equities index rose 0.9%

on the day, on track for its best quarter since April 2009, when

unprecedented central bank stimulus helped markets recover from

the 2008 financial crisis.

Still, the index was set for a slight monthly loss.

The rally has been led by technology-heavy Asian markets,

where chipmakers and hardware firms have surged on demand driven

by artificial intelligence.

Taiwan's benchmark advanced 2.5%, helped by a gain

of 1.7% in TSMC, and is up nearly 60% this year. South

Korea's KOSPI rose 1%, extending its year-to-date gain

to a record 101%.

In South Africa, the rand and the benchmark stock

index were little changed as investors braced for

planned anti-immigration demonstrations.

"Political stability is at risk, which is an unsupportive

backdrop for South African FX and bonds in the medium to long

term," said Marek Drimal, lead CEEMEA strategist at Societe

Generale.

"In the near term, the prudent policy of the central bank

remains the overarching domestic factor in South Africa, and

should still protect - and even strengthen - the rand."

The South African protests come amid wider social tension

across emerging markets, with Kenya and Bolivia also seeing

protests in recent weeks over cost-of-living pressures, fiscal

strains and frustration with government policy.

Geopolitical risk also stayed in focus.

Investors monitored prospects for Iran-U.S. talks in Doha

this week, though Iran said on Monday no meeting had been

scheduled after weekend missile fire from both sides tested an

interim ceasefire aimed at ending the four-month-old war.

The dollar index edged higher and was set for its

best monthly performance since July 2025, pressuring

risk-sensitive currencies.

Investors have added bets on continued dollar strength at

the fastest pace on record for the first half of a year, data

showed.

The EM currency gauge was flat on the day

and headed for a monthly loss, though it kept on track for a

third straight quarterly gain.

In central Europe, currencies weakened against the euro,

with the Hungarian forint down 0.8%.

Poland's June inflation accelerated to 2.5% year-on-year,

below the 2.7% forecast in a Reuters poll, reinforcing

expectations that regional price pressures remain contained.

"Polish CPI is typically the first monthly print to come out

in the region, and decisive trends there often drive

expectations for CPI releases elsewhere in Central and Eastern

Europe," Drimal said.

"I would expect the market to push rates lower across the

region - in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, possibly

Romania as well - on expectations of lower CPI."

The Polish zloty weakened 0.3% against the euro,

while Warsaw's fell 0.5%. The Czech crown and

Prague's were little changed after data showed the Czech

economy grew a quarterly 0.2% in the first quarter.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Keiko Fujimori leads Peru's presidential race after official

count concludes

** Global financial firms pivot to South Korea, cautious on

China and India, survey shows

** World Bank approves Kenya budget support and sustainability

loans

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