*

Most Asian currencies largely unchanged

*

Philippine c.bank to hold rates - Reuters poll

*

S. Korea to extend dollar-won onshore trading hours

By Roshan Thomas

June 27 (Reuters) - South Korean shares lost more than

1% on Thursday to mark their worst day in more than two weeks

after U.S. chipmaker Micron's forecast for the current quarter

disappointed investors, while the market was waiting for a rate

decision in the Philippines.

Currencies in the region were largely subdued, with the

Indonesian rupiah and the Malaysian ringgit

slightly lower, as the dollar lingered near a two-month

high ahead of key inflation data due later in the week.

A strong print would push back interest rate cut

expectations, supporting the dollar and pressuring emerging

market assets.

Stocks in Taiwan, which soared last week in tandem

with their U.S. peers riding on the Nvidia ( NVDA ) wave, fell as much as

1%, with chipmaking giant TSMC down more than 1%.

Equities in Seoul dropped 1.1% for the worst

intraday fall since June 10, as investors assessed the outlook

for semiconductor demand from artificial intelligence

technologies after Micron's outlook update raised concerns.

SK Hynix, a Micron rival and Nvidia ( NVDA ) supplier, fell near

1.1%.

South Korea also said it would extend dollar-won onshore

market's trading hours from Monday to enhance foreign investor

access and support the inclusion of government bonds in a major

global index.

In the Philippines, investors await a monetary policy

decision from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which is

expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged, according to a

Reuters poll.

"We expect BSP to stand pat at this meeting, given building

inflation pressures and ongoing PHP weakness. A decidedly dovish

BSP could lead to PHP falling as low as 60 against the US

dollar", analysts at MUFG said in a client note.

The peso was trading flat at 58.90 per dollar - near

a more than two-year low - while shares ticked higher.

The peso has lost nearly 6% so far in the first half of 2024,

making it one of the worst performing currencies in the region.

Elsewhere, Chinese stocks lost 0.7% and those in

Thailand lost 0.5%. In contrast, equities in Indonesia

and Singapore were up 0.6% and 0.3% respectively.

As the first half of 2024 draws to a close, most Southeast

Asian currencies are deep in the negative territory, with the

Thai baht and the Indonesian rupiah emerging as the

worst performers.

"Investors are constantly on the lookout for better returns

on their investments," said Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief

economist at the Union Bank of Philippines.

"With the U.S. Fed projecting to potentially cut

lesser-than-expected for this year, one would expect investment

value slanting toward USD-denominated investments."

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields tick higher to 7.139%

** Japan finance minister says concerned over weak yen

impact on economy

** China's industrial profits growth slows sharply in May

amid patchy recovery

** Sri Lanka inks debt deal with creditor nations, including

China

Asia stock

indexes and

currencies

at 0430 GMT

COUNTRY FX FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS

RIC DAILY % YTD % DAILY % YTD %

Japan +0.26 -12.04 -1.04 17.32

China -0.03 -2.35 -0.51 -0.59

India +0.08 -0.36 -0.02 9.81

Indonesia -0.15 -6.27 0.77 -4.32

Malaysia -0.15 -2.69 -0.37 8.97

Philippines +0.03 -5.93 0.08 -2.05

S.Korea -0.01 -7.26 -0.44 4.69

Singapore +0.12 -2.76 0.27 3.10

Taiwan -0.02 -5.61 -0.34 27.75

Thailand +0.01 -7.45 -0.50 -7.30