* Emerging assets up on Fed pledge
* Rouble extends gains, forint leads east Europe FX gains
* Sentiment boost for Lithuania, Hungary debt sales
By Alessandra Prentice
LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Emerging stocks jumped 1.5
percent on Thursday after a pledge by the U.S Federal Reserve to
consider more stimulus boosted appetite for riskier assets,
while Russia’s rouble extended recent gains after its central
bank ruled out near-term rate cuts.
Improving sentiment paved the way for Lithuania to raise
$1.5 billion in a 10-year bond sale and for Hungary to sell more
local government debt than originally targeted.
Hungary’s forint led Central European currencies
higher despite a warning from the International Monetary Fund
that Budapest’s central bank and tax policies could jeopardise
its efforts to secure new aid.
The unequivocally easier monetary policy stance set out by
Fed chief Ben Bernanke on Wednesday diluted concerns over
floundering Greek debt talks and anaemic global demand.
Asian export powerhouse South Korea’s fourth-quarter
economic growth surprised the market, coming in at just half the
pace that economists polled by Reuters had predicted.
Continued…
