* South Africa rand extends decline after rate hold
* Turkey raises rates, vows more tightening
* Russia, Ghana policy decision on deck
* EM stocks down 1.8%, FX off 0.3%
July 21 (Reuters) - Most emerging market stocks and currencies were down against a firmer dollar on Friday ahead of a week of major central bank decisions, while the focus for traders shifted to an expected interest rate rise in Russia in the face of higher inflation.
The MSCI indexes for EM stocks and currencies were down 1.8% and 0.3%, respectively.
Both were on track to close the week in the red, with the stocks gauge heading for a more than 2% decline after a rally of nearly 5% the previous week.
Central bank meetings in Europe, Japan and the United States are due next week, with the dollar steadying on bets of the Federal Reserve keeping rates higher for longer following evidence of labour market resilience.
Russia's central bank decision on Friday is squarely on traders' radars, with the rouble easing against the dollar and giving up some of the previous session's gains.
Russia is widely expected to raise its key rate by at least 50 basis points to 8%, marking the first increase in more than a year as inflation pressure builds following the rouble's sharp slide.
The South African rand extended its decline against the dollar, down 0.5%, following an interest rate decision.
The central bank on Thursday decided to halt rate increases for the first time since November 2021, but indicated that the pause did not mean an end to the cycle of rises.
"We have reached the terminal rate in South Africa, so I would not expect them to hike again unless something really bad happens like the USD/ZAR exchange rate shoots up to 20 or above or new inflation pressures emerge," said Marek Drimal, a lead CEEMEA strategist at Societe Generale.
Meanwhile, Turkey's central bank, the CBRT, raised its policy rate by 250 basis points to 17.5% on Thursday, promising more tightening and additional measures. The lira fell to 26.93 against the dollar, and was set to end the week lower.
"Investors will like to wait for the details of the quantitative tightening program and how the CBRT intends to influence the Turkish economy and inflation dynamics by these measures," Drimal added.
The analyst believes the lira's outlook remains uncertain despite expectations of stability over the summer, adding that international investors would not be attracted by the smaller pace of rate hikes, likely denting the inflow of foreign money.
Traders also awaited a monetary policy decision from Ghana later in the day.
On the stocks front, the Asian technology index slid 2.3%, with top contract chipmaker TSMC shedding 3.3% after flagging a 10% drop in 2023 sales. (Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; editing by Robert Birsel)
