* MSCI EM stocks up 1.2%, FX up 0.2%

* KOSPI rises 4.4%

* Turkey, South Africa cenbank decision later in the day

By Utkarsh Hathi

July 23 (Reuters) - Most emerging-market stocks gained on

Thursday, as a rally in Asian tech shares cushioned the impact

of rising oil prices, while currencies traded mixed against a

steady dollar.

Chipmakers in Asia extended gains after search giant Google's

parent Alphabet increased its capex forecast following

strong cloud-computing growth, while automaker Tesla

said spending will grow for the next two or three years. Shares

of Alphabet and Tesla were down 3.9% and 5.7%, respectively in

premarket trading on Wall Street.

"Investors need evidence that heavy investment is

translating into revenue or credible future returns," said Geoff

Yu, senior EMEA market strategist at BNY.

South Korea's KOSPI, which includes semiconductor makers

such as SK Hynix ( SKHY ) and Samsung, surged

4.4%. The benchmark has seen extreme volatility in recent weeks

due to leveraged bets on AI-related stocks.

Taiwan's tech-heavy benchmark was muted, while

Chinese equities edged 0.2% higher.

Supporting sentiment, advance estimates from the Bank of

Korea showed South Korea's economy expanded faster than expected

in the second quarter, helped by strong semiconductor demand and

supply constraints.

The broader MSCI global EM stocks index gained 1.2%,

while the currencies gauge edged 0.2% higher.

In emerging Europe, Hungarian equities declined 0.5%

after three consecutive sessions of gains, while the

energy-laden Romanian benchmark gained 0.3%. Polish

stocks were flat.

Oil prices climbed 4% on Thursday, hovering near a six-week high

after Yemen's Houthi militia said it attacked two Saudi oil

tankers, and the Saudi news agency confirmed one of the vessels

was ablaze after an assault in the Red Sea.

Attention later in the day will turn to interest-rate

decisions in Turkey and South Africa, as investors assess the

inflationary risks posed by rising energy prices.

Yu added that higher crude prices were pushing governments

and central banks back into defence mode even without a fresh

coordinated release of oil stocks.

South Africa's rand traded 0.2% lower, while its

stocks slipped 0.8%, tracking precious metal prices.

Hotter-than-expected inflation data on Wednesday has raised bets

for a bigger-than-expected rate hike from its central bank later

in the day.

Turkey's lira was little changed ahead of its interest rate

decision.

Most emerging European currencies lost ground against the

euro, with the Hungarian forint slipping 0.4%, the most

among its peers.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Beijing seeks opinions on planned China-US tariff cuts on $30

billion in trade

** Vietnam reaffirms trade talks, urges US to conclude trade

investigation

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