* China's Country Garden extends losses on debt worries
* Israel judicial compromise talks collapse- news reports
* Pakistan raises power tariffs under IMF deal
* Ghana rate decision on deck
July 24 (Reuters) - Emerging market equities dwindled on Monday with the China property sector touching an eight-month low amid sticky debt worries, while regional currencies slipped against a firm dollar ahead of a likely U.S. rate hike this week.
The MSCI index for EM stocks was down 0.3%, dragged by China's blue chips and Hong Kong equities .
China's property sector remained under pressure, tanking 6.4%, with property developer Country Garden and property service arm Country Garden Services Holdings slumping 8.7% and 17.9%, respectively, on persistent debt concerns.
Traders keenly awaited policy signals from a likely Politburo meeting this week, which comes against the backdrop of lacklustre economic growth and property sector agony.
"We don't think investor sentiment will shift until we get concrete action... to support property sales in high-tier cities, steps to ease pressure on local government financing vehicle liabilities, and support to boost consumption," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer, UBS Global Wealth Management.
The analyst, however, noted that markets don't appear to be pricing in a "big bang" fiscal response.
The MSCI index for EM currencies shed 0.1%, with the dollar rising ahead of a likely 25-basis-point rate hike by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
Other major central bank decisions this week include those from Europe and Japan.
The Hungarian forint was up 0.2% against the euro as traders awaited a benchmark rate decision on Tuesday.
Deutsche Bank analysts expect the one-day deposit rate to be eased by 100bps to 15%, while renewed FX weakness could potentially see the pace of easing being slowed or even paused.
However, the Czech crown hit its lowest point against the euro since the start of 2023 on expectations that rates will fall in the second half of the year.
Meanwhile, reports showed Israel's judicial compromise talks have collapsed. This comes after protesters chained themselves outside Israel's parliament as the president led a last minute bid for a compromise on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial overhaul ahead of a crucial vote in the Knesset.
While Tel Aviv shares dropped 1%, the shekel was choppy against the dollar.
The Russian rouble firmed away from 91 against the dollar, following Friday's larger-than-expected rate hike, with high oil prices and exporters' month-end tax payments set to offer the currency some support.
The South African rand lost 0.5% against the greenback, after closing the previous week higher as inflation fell back within target and the central bank paused rate hikes.
Meanwhile, Pakistan increased its power tariffs under a $3-billion International Monetary Fund deal, after the lender had pointed out that the power sector's liquidity conditions remained acute, with a buildup of arrears.
Ghana and Nigeria are set to detail their policy decisions on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, with Deutsche Bank analysts expecting a rate hold from both, despite significant risks for inflation and policy outlook. (Reporting by Ankika Biswas; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
