CEE MARKETS 1-FX retreat as global stocks turn negative

                                
 * Most emerging Europe currencies ease in early trade
                                
 * Hungary posts big trade surplus as imports plunge
                                
 * Romania cbank expected to cut interest rates in May
                                
 * Stocks copy falls in U.S., Asian market
                                
 * Romania's industrial output falls 12 pct y/y in Feb
                                
 
                                
 BUDAPEST, April 8 (Reuters) - Emerging European currencies
opened broadly weaker on Wednesday as global stocks turned
negative on renewed fears over corporate profits ahead of the
first-quarter earnings season.
                                
 Poland's zloty <EURPLN=> led regional currencies weaker,
shedding 0.8 percent early on after a central bank official was
quoted as saying 2009 would not be a good time for Poland to
enter the ERM-2 currency grid, the waiting room for the euro.
                                
 Under its plan to join the euro in 2012, Poland would have
to enter the ERM-2 exchange rate regime in the first half of
2009. [ID:nL8304020]
                                
 But the recent volatility of the zloty -- which has lost
about a third of its value against the euro from its peak in
July -- has raised concerns among economists and has made the
government signal a possible delay.
                                
 Romania's leu also weakened against the euro <EURRON=> in
early trade on Wednesday due to falling stocks, dealers said.
                                
 "U.S. stocks are in the red, Asia is in the red, the dollar
is firming ... bad news for EMEA," said a dealer in Bucharest.
                                
 Data showed on Wednesday Romania's adjusted industrial
output fell 12 percent year-on-year in February, reflecting a
steep downturn in economic output in the region reeling under
falling demand in western Europe and weak domestic consumption.
                                
 As the downturn deepens, Romania's central bank is likely to
cut interests rates by a quarter point in May, a Reuters poll
showed on Tuesday, after tumbling demand likely eased inflation
in March and deepened an expected economic contraction.
[ID:nL7396138]
                                
 However, global financial woes that forced Romania to secure
a 20 billion euro international rescue deal in March should
kick-start public finance reforms vital to ensuring long-term
growth prospects, the World Bank said. [ID:nL6416385]
                                
 Hungary's forint <EURHUF=> opened weaker in modest trade on
Wednesday and dealers said weaker stock markets globally and the
dollar's firming versus the euro would put pressure on emerging
market assets.
                                
 "By the standards of the past few months, it's looking like
a quiet day but the trend is clearly for weakening and we could
look at 300 before the day is over," a dealer said.
                                
 "I don't think 300 is a particularly strong technical level
but psychologically, it is key so I expect some jostling there.
Unless flows are cranked up a bit, breaking through 300 could be
difficult."
                                
 The domestic calendar lacks any market moving events for the
next several days and Friday's release of March inflation
figures, which could provide clues on how the forint's weakness
impacted consumer prices, could be the next key domestic event.
                                
 Hungary posted a trade surplus of 279.2 million euros in
February after a deficit of 194.1 million in January,
preliminary data from the Central Statistics Office showed on
Wednesday. [ID:nBUD002889]
                                
 Analysts in a Reuters poll forecast a surplus of 150 million
euros in Hungary's trade account <HUEUR01>. Imports in February
dropped by 32.3 percent, while exports fell by 29.7 percent.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT-------------------------
Currency                    Latest   Previous Local    Local
                                
                                  close    currency currency
                                
                                           change   change
                                
                                           today    in 2009 
Czech crown      <EURCZK=>   26.65   26.558  -0.33%    +0.42%
Polish zloty     <EURPLN=>    4.51    4.48   -0.78%    -8.86%
Hungarian forint <EURHUF=>  297.88  296.96   -0.31%   -11.16%
Croatian kuna    <EURHRK=>    7.42    7.43   +0.09%    -0.89%
Romanian leu     <EURRON=>    4.19    4.163  -0.64%    -4.19%
Serbian dinar    <EURRSD=>   92.96   92.85   -0.21%    -3.81%

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 (Reporting by Reuters bureaus, writing by Gergely Szakacs;
Editing by Andy Bruce)