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Country Garden at record low on restructuring fears
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Pakistan shares jump, more firms added to key MSCI index
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Czech rate-setters see no Q3 cut - Aug. 3 minutes
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Romanian inflation falls to single digits
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Pakistan leaders seek deal on caretaker PM ahead of election
By Ankika Biswas
Aug 11 (Reuters) - Emerging market stocks fell to a one-month low on Friday, dragged down by Chinese shares on concern over a rocky post-pandemic recovery and lack of concrete stimulus, while Russia's rouble weakened despite central bank intervention.
The MSCI EM stocks index shed 0.9% and was poised for a second weekly loss, weighed down by China's blue-chips and Hong Kong shares.
China's largest private property developer Country Garden plunged to a record low after a first-half loss forecast and a media report citing debt restructuring plans.
Ratings agency Moody's on Thursday downgraded the company's corporate family rating to Caa1 from B1.
Other Asian stocks were also headed for weekly losses, with Taiwan among the worst hit.
Pakistan's benchmark share index jumped over 2% after MSCI added 15 domestic-listed companies to its main Frontier Market index.
The MSCI EM currencies index slipped 0.4%, also poised for a second weekly decline, with the dollar headed for a fourth weekly gain.
U.S. consumer prices increasing moderately in July bolstered bets that the Federal Reserve may halt its rate-hike campaign, while the yen neared the key 145-mark, a level at which investors think the Bank of Japan might intervene.
"Stable U.S. inflation should support EM rates in the medium term," analysts at Barclays wrote in a note.
"However, the outlook for the Chinese economy puts a drag on EM FX as an asset class. The expected announcement of a China stimulus package, especially focused on the real estate sector, could turn China sentiment, which remains depressed."
Meanwhile, a Reuters poll showed China's new yuan loans are expected to fall sharply month-on-month in July after record lending in the first half, but could still exceed the year-earlier amount amid more economic support.
Russia's rouble headed back towards the 98-per-dollar mark and touched the 108-per-euro, but depreciated at a slower pace than much of August after the central bank's FX market intervention.
Czech's crown gained 0.4% against the euro, with the central bank in its August meeting minutes noting it does not see room for policy easing in the third quarter amid persistent inflation risks.
Data showed Romanian headline inflation fell below 10% for the first time in seventeen months, but not significant enough to trigger rate cuts before next year.
On Pakistan's political front, the premier's office noted the outgoing prime minister and opposition leader will meet again on Friday to try to pick a caretaker leader to oversee a general election due by November. The rupee was down 0.3%.
Meanwhile, economists expect Turkish consumer prices to jump by as much as 8.5% in August, underlining Ankara's challenge amid a painful path toward more orthodox policies. (Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
