*

Investors brace for a central bank-heavy week

*

Indonesian stocks rise, rupiah slip

*

MSCI EM Asia anchored around July 2021-peak

*

Thai baht weakens most in six weeks

*

China stocks down, S.Korea stocks at record high

*

Philippine stocks down 1%, lowest since mid-April

(Updates for afternoon trade)

By Sameer Manekar

Sept 15 (Reuters) - Emerging Asia equities traded

prudently on Monday, with Indonesian stocks extending gains into

a fourth session, ahead of an action-packed week of key central

bank policy meetings that could see the U.S. Federal Reserve

resume its easing cycle.

The MSCI gauge of emerging market equities in Asia

dipped lower in afternoon trade, but was

anchored around a July 2021 peak. A subset of ASEAN equities

also lingered around a February 2020 high.

Stocks in China slipped 0.3% on weak economic data,

while South Korea's KOSPI index inched up to a fresh

all-time high, driven by the government scrapping its plan to

raise taxes on stock investment. The won firmed 0.6%.

Investors will be keenly watching a busy slate of central

bank meetings this week, including in the United States, Japan,

Taiwan, Indonesia, England, Canada, and Norway.

The main focus will be on the Fed, which is widely expected

to cut rates by a quarter point on Wednesday, and its language

around its policy trajectory this year. Markets have begun to

factor in as many as three rate cuts by the end of

2025.

"The upcoming Fed policy meeting is undoubtedly one of the

most important ones in recent times and can have a bearing on

the market outlook," said Vasu Menon, managing director,

investment strategy at OCBC in Singapore.

"With an abundance of liquidity on the sidelines and in the

absence of a recession, Fed rate cuts could prove to be a

tailwind for markets as history has often shown."

Indonesia's benchmark index advanced 0.8% to a

one-week high. The rupiah hovered around 16,400 a dollar,

while government bonds rallied, with the yield on the 10-year

at a two-week low of 6.321%.

Markets widely expect Bank Indonesia to hold its key

interest rate at 5.00% on Wednesday, primarily to avoid any

volatility in the rupiah in the wake of shocks from recent

protests and the unexpected cabinet reshuffle.

Thailand's stocks were rangebound through the day,

while the baht slipped the most in more than six weeks

to 31.920 per dollar.

The country's new prime minister on Monday said the baht's

strength needs to be urgently addressed, as he faces an uphill

task of turning around an economy grappling with U.S. tariffs,

high household debt, slackening tourism, and weak consumption.

The baht is up 7.5% this year, making it the second-best

performing currency in Asia after Taiwan's dollar. That

strength, deemed "unnecessary" by market participants,

undermines Thailand's export competitiveness and its tourism

sector.

Singapore's FTSE Straits Times slipped but lingered

around its record high, while stocks in Manila fell about

1% to their lowest since mid-April.

Markets in Malaysia and Japan were

closed for a public holiday.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** China's economy slumps in August as consumer, export

demand sags

** Thai industries federation says baht at 34-35 per dollar

will be more appropriate

** Indonesia's Bank Central Asia and Bank Mandiri

up 1%

** Indonesia announces new 16.23 trillion rupiah stimulus

package to boost economy for Q4 2025

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0721 GMT

COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY FX YTD INDEX STOCKS STOCKS

% % DAILY YTD %

%

Japan +0.14 +6.59 - -

China India +0.09 -2.93 -0.03 6.18

Indones -0.18 -1.92 0.88 11.91

ia

Malaysi - +6.38 - -2.57

a

Philipp -0.29 +1.44 -0.85 -7.22

ines

S.Korea Singapo +0.03 +6.51 -0.23 14.43

re

Taiwan +0.12 +8.51 -0.46 10.08

Thailan -0.72 +7.41 0.11 -7.51

d