EMERGING MARKETS-EM assets mixed as US strikes dampen hopes of Iran peace deal

* South Korea stocks hit record as most Asian bourses fall

* Sri Lanka delivers outsized ​100 bps ⁠rate hike

* Senegal bonds slide after new PM appointed

May 26 (Reuters) - Stocks in emerging markets were mixed on Tuesday and currencies weakened, as investors assessed U.S. strikes on Iran a day after officials had ​raised ‌market expectations of an imminent U.S.-Iran peace deal. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiating a deal with Iran could "take a few days," quashing hopes for ⁠a more rapid end to the conflict as U.S. forces conducted what Washington called ⁠defensive strikes in southern Iran.

Rubio had said on ​Monday the U.S. would pursue diplomacy before considering other options, and Iranian officials were engaged in talks with their Qatari counterparts for a deal.

"It's frustrating because U.S. officials are playing with markets and the narrative the way a cat plays with a mouse, and there is very little ​investors can do ‌about it," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

On Tuesday, MSCI's index tracking global EM stocks added 0.5% to hover near record highs, while the currencies gauge was flat.

TECH EUPHORIA STILL PROVIDES SOME SUPPORT

The stocks index hit a record earlier this month, buoyed by rallies in tech-heavy Asian bourses, but eased from the levels due to uncertainty surrounding the peace deal.

South Korea's KOSPI, however, continued to draw support ​from tech enthusiasm, gaining 2.6% to a record high. Other major regional bourses, including in India and Taiwan, traded lower.

Investors have been worried about ‌the health of Asian economies as they are heavily reliant on Middle East energy supplies. These concerns have pushed Indonesia's rupiah to record lows against the dollar, while Sri Lanka's central bank stunned markets with ‌an outsized 100 basis point increase to its policy rate, its biggest hike in three years.

In the Middle East, Turkish stocks edged 1.3% lower and the currency fell 0.4%, set for its biggest intraday drop since July in a truncated trading session. Assets last week were ​volatile after an unprecedented judicial crackdown on Turkey's main opposition party.

South Africa's rand and local stocks fell 0.5% and 1.1%, respectively, partly tracking a dip in gold prices. Moody's ‌revision of the gold-exporting country's outlook to 'positive' from 'stable' helped spark a rally on Monday.

Most currencies in emerging Europe were subdued against the euro. Hungary's forint weakened 0.5% ahead of a local central bank decision, where it was widely expected to hold rates steady.

Equities in Poland fell 0.2% and ⁠Romania were flat, ⁠while ones in Hungary were up 0.7%. Elsewhere, Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye named an economist ‌as prime minister on Monday, three days after dismissing the old government that had spoken against debt restructuring. Senegal's hard currency government bonds plunged with the 2028 euro-denominated bond down ​some 5.6 cents on the euro - ​its second largest daily decline in nearly a decade. The dollar-denominated ones fell nearly 4 cents ‌on the dollar.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** South Korea's central bank to hold key rate on May 28, hikes expected from Q3: Reuters poll ** Japan, Mercosur to start EPA trade talks, Kyodo says

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