EMERGING MARKETS-EM stocks kick off the week higher, Indian stocks strained by US visa row

By Nikhil Sharma

(Reuters) - Emerging market stocks edged higher on Monday and currencies flattened ahead of the week's crucial central bank meetings, while Indian IT stocks fell following the U.S. decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications.

Indian information technology stocks .NIFTYIT tanked 3% - set for their worst day since April 4 - weighing on the benchmark BSE Sensex .BSESN that shed 0.4%.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on Friday a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, a big blow to the technology sector that relies heavily on skilled workers from India and China.

"We still believe that there is a possibility of an amicable solution to the trade war initiated by the U.S. on account of global political compulsions and economic rationale," said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research.

Meanwhile, an index tracking emerging market equities .MSCIEF edged up 0.24% after rising over 1% in the previous week.

A similar gauge for currencies .MIEM00000CUS was little changed, with a steady dollar keeping its moves restricted. The index added 0.1% last week.

In Central and Eastern Europe, the Hungarian forint EURHUF= was up 0.22% as investors positioned themselves for the country's interest rate decision later on Tuesday.

With inflation breaching the tolerance band and looming inflation risks in 2026, the central bank is widely expected to leave its base rate at the European Union's joint-highest level of 6.5%, marking a year-long period of unchanged rates. The country's main equity index .BUX dropped 0.72% on Monday.

The Czech National Bank is also expected to deliver a "hold" verdict on Wednesday, potentially extending its pause to a third meeting on inflation risks associated with wages and services.

Czech crown EURCZK= was flat, while stocks in Prague .PX fell 0.2%.

Polish stocks .WIG20 declined 0.7% and the zloty EURPLN= remained flat. The moves follow credit ratings agency Moody's decision on Friday to lower Poland's outlook to "negative" from "stable" amid rising spending pressure and political gridlock.

Elsewhere, Chinese stocks .SSEC moved 0.2% higher as investors digested positive signals from U.S.-China talks after Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping made progress on a TikTok agreement.

The country kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive month in September, in line with market expectations, following the central bank's decision to hold a main policy rate steady last week.

In Indonesia, the rupiah continued its decline IDR=, slipping 0.1% to a near five-month low under the central bank's oversight. Central bank Governor Perry Warjiyo said that the bank would maintain its market interventions to stabilize it.

Ukraine's dollar bonds sold off as armed conflict with Moscow showed no signs of easing. The growth-linked 2035 and 2036 notes fell more than 1 cent to the dollar, each, to at their lowest since early August.

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