* Most Asian stocks, FX fall
* Turkey's unemployment rate rises; industrial output falls
* Egypt's annual headline inflation in Dec eases
* Stocks down 0.4%, FX off 0.1%
Jan 10 (Reuters) - Emerging markets stocks hit near one-month lows on Wednesday, led by declines in broader Asian shares, while currencies slipped as investors awaited U.S. inflation data for clarity on the timing of interest rate cuts.
The MSCI's gauge of emerging market stocks was down 0.4% at 0946 GMT, hitting its lowest levels since Dec. 14, while a basket of currencies slipped 0.1% against a steady U.S. dollar.
Across Asia, both Shanghai's Composite index and China's blue-chip shares dropped 0.5% each, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.6%. Taiwan shares declined 0.4%.
The launch of a Chinese satellite that flew over Taiwan, prompting an erroneous air raid alert, sparked a political storm on the island on Wednesday about China's motives only days out from presidential elections.
Assets across emerging markets started the first week of 2024 on a sour note as investors dialled back expectations of early rate cuts.
The latest U.S. economic data came in mixed last week, offering little cheer for investors as they eye a U.S. inflation report on Thursday for clarity on the timing and pace of rate cuts.
Uncertainty over the U.S. economy, "on whether we are heading into a recession or... is there going to be a higher-for-longer scenario", has had an impact on emerging markets, said Marek Drimal, lead CEEMEA strategist at Societe Generale.
"In that respect we have seen this correction in emerging markets on the index level, where EM FX, local bonds, hard currency bonds and equities are down year-to-date," Drimal added.
"I would say that this correction could continue over the coming weeks."
Turkey's lira touched fresh lows of 29.9765, running closer to the 30 per dollar mark.
On the data front, Turkey's domestic unemployment rate rose in November, while industrial output dropped for the same period.
Egypt's sovereign dollar bonds rallied by more than 1.3 cents on Wednesday, Tradeweb data showed, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pledged U.S. support for its economy and reforms.
The country's annual headline inflation eased in December.
Sri Lanka's central bank is considering moving towards a single policy rate mechanism to ensure better signalling of its monetary policy stance, Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Wednesday.
Sri Lankan shares were down 0.5%. (Reporting by Siddarth S in Bengaluru; Editing by Jan Harvey)
