OREANDA-NEWS. March 24, 2015. Emerging equities were at their highest levels for more than two weeks on Monday as a rally based on diminishing prospects of a mid-year U.S. rate rise kept going.

The MSCI emerging stocks index rose 0.2 percent while the Asia Pacific excluding Japan benchmark gained 0.3 percent.

Speculation mounted that a rising dollar, that had lured money out of other assets, may have run its course.

"Markets are choppy right now, there is no clear trend, a lot of it is technical," Societe Generale head of emerging markets strategy, Benoit Anne, said.

"What happens to the dollar is key - if this is the beginning of a huge dollar correction, that is a different story, but it is way to early to make that call."

Adding to bullishness in Asia was a near 2 percent gain in Shanghai, fuelled by hopes for more policy stimulus to prop up the ailing local property sector.

With Brent crude retreating 1.7 percent, Russia's rouble also went into reverse against the dollar, falling 0.7 percent, while Moscow dollar-denominated shares were down 0.5 percent.

With Ukrainian policymakers meeting creditors and seeking around \\$15 billion of debt relief, the country's sovereign dollar bond prices were trading moderately higher with the \\$2.6 billion 2017 issue up by 0.75 cents.

Russia holds about \\$3 billion in Ukrainian Eurobonds that mature this December and on Monday Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said Moscow will not request early repayment.

Turkey's lira was 0.2 percent lower against the dollar as weaker growth and policy uncertainty stemming from soured relations between the government and central bank tempered relief at Fitch affirming its investment grade rating.

The forint shed 0.2 percent against the euro as a surprise upgrade in Hungary's credit rating by Standard & Poor's raised the prospect of a bigger-than-expected interest rate cut by the National Bank of Hungary.

S&P lifted the rating of the region's most indebted state by one notch to BB+ late on Friday, Hungary's first upgrade for years, saying that economic growth and budget prospects had improved and the economy was less vulnerable to external shocks.

Israel's shekel was firmer against the dollar, rising 0.4 percent with the central bank due to publish an interest rate decision later in the day, though analysts polled by Reuters expect no change.