EMERGING MARKETS-EM assets fall as investors assess 'fragile' US-China truce

Emerging market stocks eased off four-year highs and currencies looked set to snap a three-day winning streak on Thursday, with the moves uneven across regions as investors digested the outcome of the highly anticipated Trump-Xi meeting.

MSCI's equities index for the region fell 0.3%. Its currencies gauge also slipped 0.3% after three consecutive days of gains. Emerging market investors are confronting diverse challenges as they evaluate the region's appeal, weighing long-term tailwinds against near-term uncertainty.

"Progress in U.S.-China trade talks today marks an undeniably positive step toward temporarily stabilising a structurally fractious relationship," said Louise Loo, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics. "However, the detente is fragile given the high risk of policy missteps and mutual misreadings."

MARKETS DIVERGE South Korean shares notched a record closing high after Washington and Seoul finalised a trade deal. Taiwan's equity benchmark closed flat after surging to a record high earlier in the session.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the issue of Taiwan did not come up in his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Concerns have lingered in Taipei over Trump's vacillating stance on the island, which Beijing claims as its own territory. Elsewhere, Tel Aviv stocks dipped 0.3% and the shekel was marginally higher. On Wednesday, Israel said it remains committed to the U.S.-backed ceasefire despite its retaliation for the death of an Israeli soldier with a day-long bombardment in Gaza.

Saudi Arabian equities continued their climb for the fourth consecutive day, rising 0.2% and hitting their highest since April despite an easing in oil prices. The kingdom's economy grew 5% in the third quarter from a year earlier, flash government estimates released on Thursday showed.

In Jamaica, some bonds steadied a day after a drop due to the damage from Hurricane Melissa, the strongest hurricane on record to directly hit the island. Meanwhile, the S&P Global upgraded Mongolia's sovereign credit rating, citing sustained fiscal consolidation and strong economic growth even as coal exports decline.

HUNGARY TO SEEK WAIVER In Europe, Hungarian equities were flat. The country will seek exemptions from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff told a briefing on Thursday. Orban is expected to meet Trump in Washington next month.

Data showed Hungary's GDP grew at a slower-than-expected pace of 0.6% year-over-year. The forint weakened 0.2% against the euro. The Czech economy, on the other hand, outpaced expectations in the third quarter. Stocks inched up 0.4% while the Czech crown was flat compared to the euro.