* Turkish stocks, lira down after IMF no-deal news
* Emerging stocks up 0.5 pct to 6-wk high after China data
* Russian rouble at 14-mth high; Agri bank plans rouble bond
By Sujata Rao
LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Turkish markets slipped on
Wednesday after prospects of an IMF loan deal disappeared,
though losses were limited by generally positive risk sentiment
that pushed emerging stocks to six-week highs.
Chinese trade data that underscored the economy's strength
and buoyed commodity prices boosted stock markets, with emerging
equities gaining half a percent to rise for the fourth session
in a row <.MSCIEF>.
Russia's and South Africa's oil and metals-heavy bourses
were up about 0.4 percent <> <.JTOPI>.
The positive momentum also helped pare losses on Turkish
stocks which had opened 1.2 percent lower following news that
the country's stop-start talks for a loan with the International
Monetary Fund had been called off.
They traded 0.6 percent lower <> by 1100 GMT after
economy minister Ali Babacan said the door was still open for a
possible agreement in future.
Turkey's last standby deal expired in 2008 and markets have
see-sawed sharply in recent months as they waited for news on
whether the agreement would be renewed.
The lira also suffered, extending losses to fall 0.3 percent
to the dollar <TRY=> and local bond yields rose slightly. But
the news had little impact on the country's eurobonds and debt
insurance costs, CDS monitor CMA saying five-year credit default
swaps (CDS) were steady at 162 basis points.
"The concern some investors may have is that Turkey may lose
the anchor for economic policy that an IMF programme
represents," said Michael Loufir, head of emerging markets
research at the National Bank of Greece in Athens.
Recent economic reforms and growing acceptance that Turkey
was unlikely to renew its IMF programme were limiting losses,
Loufir said, adding: "As a result there are no huge pressures on
Turkish CDS which are still trading better than its credit
rating would suggest."
Analysts say the currency is also supported by expectations
of a rate increase by the third quarter with some forecasting up
to 125 bps of policy tightening by end-year. This has also been
pushing up bond yields, with the two-year yield up almost 100
bps since the start of 2010.
ROUBLE HITS FRESH HIGHS
Meanwhile, Russia's rouble hit fresh 14-month highs,
testing the upper limit of 34.50 to the central bank's
euro-dollar basket <RUS=MCX> just a day after the bank shifted
the currency's trading boundary twice by a total of 10 kopecks.
A total of 10 such moves have been made in the past three
weeks and the rouble has risen 2.6 percent to the basket in the
past month, reflecting a 10 percent oil price surge.
The prospect of further rouble appreciation could lure
investors to Russian Agricultural Bank's planned rouble bond.
The bank said on Wednesday it will hold roadshows in Europe next
week for the Reg S deal. Click on [].
A more imminent issue is Romania's five-year
euro-denominated sovereign bond which is expected to price on
Thursday. []
Elsewhere, investors are waiting for more news from Dubai
ahead of an announcement on Dubai World's debt restructuring.
Dubai's stock index <> was marginally weaker but stayed
near a one-month high while Dubai World's subsidiary Nakheel saw
its 2011 Islamic bond rise half a point in price to 58.5.
Dubai CDS fell 5 bps to 483 bps.
Bond yields on JP Morgan's benchmark emerging bond index
<11EMJ> fell 3 bps to 262 bps, the tightest level since June
2008.
(Additional reporting by Sebastian Tong; editing by John
Stonestreet)
