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U.S.non-farm payrolls at 1330 GMT
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Turkey's lira hits record low
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Turkey's January unemployment rate fell
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Czech's February consumer prices rose 16.7% y/y
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Stocks down 1.4%, FX flat against softer dollar
By Shubham Batra March 10 (Reuters) - Emerging market stocks fell sharply on Friday as concerns about China's recovery resurfaced after recent weaker-than-expected numbers, while investors await key U.S. jobs data for clues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory. MSCI's EM equities index fell 1.4%, set for its biggest weekly loss since October 2022, after slowing inflation growth and a more than 10% drop in China's imports disappointed investors this week, raising concern about slow economic recovery in the world's second-largest economy. All eyes will be on the non-farm payrolls data by the U.S. Labor Department due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT), expected to show U.S. job growth slowed to a still-solid pace in February, which could see the Fed maintaining an aggressive monetary policy. "Unless U.S. non-farm payrolls surprise on the downside, which could potentially shift the bias in favour of a 25 bps rather than a 50 bps hike by the Fed, although Feb CPI next week will be crucial – today’s session could be labelled as a Black Friday," said Piotr Matys, senior FX analyst at In Touch Capital Markets. Regional currencies were flat against a weaker dollar. Turkey's lira , which is prone to sharp swings before regular trading hours, was flat on Friday, after dropping 4.25% to a record low of 19.80 against the dollar overnight. Data showed Turkey's unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage points month-on-month to 9.7% in January. Factory output expanded 4.5% on a yearly basis in the same month, returning to growth after two months of decline due to the global economic slowdown. The South African rand firmed 0.5% against the dollar, while the Russian rouble edged lower on lower oil prices and this week's reduced foreign currency sales by the finance ministry, with investors cautious ahead of the U.S. data. In central and eastern Europe, the Hungary's forint was down 0.2% against the euro as it posted a foreign trade deficit of 165 million euros in January, with exports rising by an annual 14.6% year-on-year. The Czech Republic crown was flat against the euro after Czech consumer prices rose by 16.7% on a yearly basis in February, putting the month-on-month inflation rate at +0.6%.
Elsewhere in emerging markets, ratings agency Fitch said Sri Lanka was likely to secure financing support from the International Monetary Fund after the lender's executive board set a date of March 20 to consider approval of a long-awaited $2.9 billion bailout. (Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Robert Birsel)
