* MSCI's EM stocks index in correction territory

* China equities touch 23-month lows on lockdown fears

* South Africa's Sasol tumbles on flood impact warning

April 25 (Reuters) - Concern that Beijing could join Shanghai in a strict COVID-19 lockdown weighed on Chinese stocks on Monday, dragging the MSCI's index for emerging market stocks 2.4% lower in its worst one-day percentage fall since mid-March.

The MSCI emerging market index slid into correction territory, down 10% from its early April peak, after China's plunged nearly 5% to a 23-month low, while the Shanghai composite index shed 5.2%.

China's commercial hub, Shanghai, entered its fourth week of a harsh lockdown, with Beijing fearing similar curbs after the emergence of COVID-19 cases.

Worries remain over the impact on China's economy, with both the onshore and offshore yuan hitting their weakest levels since April 2021.

Emerging markets have come under pressure as developed markets like the United States look set for more aggressive tightening cycles to combat inflationary pressures.

Money markets expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by a half point at the next two meetings, lifting the dollar to two-year highs versus its rivals.

Currencies of emerging market exporters such as South Africa's rand, Brazil's real , Colombia's peso, had outperformed those of non-exporters as Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a commodity price rally, which has cooled in recent days and proven to be a short term boost.

"Unstable risk sentiment and China's battle against COVID are raising the downside risks for commodity currencies... which may struggle to find any firm support in the coming days" said Francesco Pesole, an FX strategist at ING.

The MSCI's EM currencies index fell by 0.6% against the greenback amid general risk-aversion on Monday.

South Africa's rand edged lower against the dollar for the eighth straight session, while stocks in the region tumbled 3.4% as they eyed their worst day since early March.

Markets in Africa's most industrialized economy were pummelled last week as floods devastated the KwaZulu-Natal province, killing more than 400 people and causing at least 10 billion rand ($656 million) of damage.

South Africa's Sasol fell more than 5% as it declared force majeure on the export of certain chemical products due to the floods, possibly affecting its fourth-quarter volume outlook.

Turkey's lira dipped 0.2%, while Russia's onshore rouble firmed against the dollar, helped by tax payments that companies are due to make this week, ahead of a central bank rate decision on Friday.

For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2022, see http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2022, see https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX

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For RUSSIAN market report, see (Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexander Smith)